


Mission: Impossible

by lostbaechu



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 19:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 39,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20215279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostbaechu/pseuds/lostbaechu
Summary: Wendy and Irene find it difficult, almost impossible, to keep their relationship a secret.





	1. Chapter 1

Being in a relationship and being famous are two things one shouldn't combine. Especially, when you are in a relationship with one of your group members.

_Idols shouldn't fall in love._

_Idols were like robots. Programmed to follow their company's rules._

_One wrong move and your career is over._

Irene sat on the couch and buried her head into her hands. All these thoughts were giving her a headache.

"Hey, are you okay?" Irene jerked her head up at the sound of Yeri's voice. The maknae sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Are you having these thoughts again?" Yeri asked carefully. Irene closed her eyes with a sigh, "No..."

"Are you sure?" Yeri asked again, raising an eyebrow. Irene couldn't hide. Her members knew her all to well.

"Okay, I am thinking about it," she nodded in defeat. Yeri lifted the leader's chin, making her look at her, "Listen, no one is going to find out about it. And of course, we're not going to tell anyone. Understand?" Irene nodded with a pout.

"It's been almost six years and no one has noticed, what makes you think they'll notice now?" Yeri continued. Irene shook her head. Yeri was right.

_Six years_. Had it been that long already?

She had met Wendy when they were still trainees, it took them less than a few minutes to fall in love and less than three weeks to confess to each other. Irene would never forget the first time they had kissed which was no more than a week after the confession. Yes, their love story was the ordinary _'love at first sight'_ and Irene wasn't proud of that but all that mattered was that at the end she got the girl. She smiled at the thought.

"What is it?" Yeri couldn't help but smile too. Seeing their leader smile was a rare sight these days, so they treasured it every time it happened.

"Oh, it's nothing," Irene stood up after giving a pat on Yeri's back. She didn't want the maknae to know about their extremely awkward and cringe-worthy confession. Seulgi was the only one who knew somehow (probably begged Wendy to tell her - Wendy couldn't say no to Seulgi's puppy eyes) and she mocked them every time she got the chance, even after all these years. So, letting the maknaes know about it too was out of option, even though they had asked them countless times.

"Thank you, Yeri. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

Yeri rolled her eyes, "Sometimes I wonder who's the younger one here. You should be the one giving advice!" Irene playfully smacked the maknae's arm, "I always give you advice but you never listen."

"Yeah, because your advice is boring," Yeri muttered before quickly running to her room, knowing that Irene would smack her again. Irene laughed lightly. Sometimes she felt like a mum in their dorm. Even though they were all best friends, there were times when the four younger girls would act like a bunch of five year olds. Irene didn't mind though. She was used to it after so many years. And she loved it.

(...)

Keeping their confession a secret didn't last for too long after all. Six years wasn't long, for Irene at least. And all thanks to the evil maknaes. Irene should have known better. They always got what they wanted.

It was a starry night in Seoul, a few days after another successful comeback. Their new song 'Power Up' had gotten a Perfect All Kill and many other awards with only a few weeks of promotions. The girls couldn't be happier. They never forgot to thank their fans for their every achievement. It was all thanks to them after all.

The girls decided to celebrate that night by playing games and having a few drinks. The evil maknaes decided it was best to play a game of truth or dare, since they were a bit tipsy. Irene would be the only one to disagree, because she knew the younger ones would ask ridiculous questions. But her competitive butt wouldn't say no when Joy started calling her a chicken and Yeri said, "You're scared you're gonna loose!"

_Irene never lost._

Even Wendy wanted her to play, which was very unusual. It was probably the alcohol talking.

After a small argument, they all settled down in the living room's floor. Joy spread a few cards on the floor facing down.

"The game is going to be a little different this time," she announced and explained the new rules. Basically, they had to choose a card and if it was green it meant 'trurh' and if it was red it meant 'dare'. The other players would randomly come up with a question or a dare.

Irene huffed, full aware of Joy's mischievous grin. There was no way Joy changed the rules 'just for fun' as she claimed. She was definetly hiding something. Irene drunk a long sip from her beer. This was going to be a long night.

"Unnie, you go first," Yeri pointed at Seulgi. The latter simply shrugged and picked a card.

"Dare," the dancer muttered when she saw the colour of the card.

_One red_. Irene counted in her head. She had to make sure Joy wasn't cheating.

"Okay, each one of us will smack your butt as hard as we can," Yeri suggested.

"Oh, come on..."

"That's kinky."

"That's too harsh, Yeri!"

Each member complained. Yeri rolled her eyes,_ "Chickens."_

They all gasped in unison. _Unbelievable_. Red Velvet were talented, beautiful, even a little bit crazy...

But they weren't _chickens_.

"How dare you..."

"Seulgi stand up!"

Seulgi did so, even though she liked chickens. Yeri laughed in victory and stood first in line behind Seulgi.

After the third smack Seulgi was about to collapse. "I hate you..." she muttered in pain, glaring at Yeri. Joy was the only one left to smack Seulgi precious butt, but she refused to do so, saying, "I think she's had enough." Seulgi thanked her and quickly sat down.

"That means she lost," Yeri smirked. That kid was so competitive.

"I don't care," Joy muttered and sent a concerned look towards Seulgi. She looked like she was still in pain.

"Moving on then. You." Yeri pointed at Irene. The latter frowned, "Who put you in charge of this? You shouldn't be the one choosing," she crossed her arms defensively.

"I don't see anyone capable enough to do this job in this room," Yeri mimicked Irene's body language and crossed her arms too.

"Hey!" Seulgi and Wendy yelled in unison. These 94' liners really shared one braincell.

"I'm the hottest one here so I'll choose," Joy interrupted.

"That's stupid," Wendy mumbled.

Surprisingly, no one disagreed even though Irene didn't like where this was going.

"You." Joy pointed at Irene.

"Oh, come on!"

"Just choose a card already!"

Irene grumbled under her breath but did as she was told. She hated playing games with the maknaes. She wisely chose a card and slowly flipped it around.

_Please don't be red. Please don't be red._

"It's red!" Joy gave Yeri a high five. Why were they so excited?

"I dare you to tell us how you confessed to Wendy."

"And your first kiss!"

Oh, that was why.

"This is unfair. You had this planned."

"Excuse me?" the maknaes faked a gasp.

"We would never do such thing!" they acted offended.

"This is stupid." Irene pouted.

"Come on, Irene. Just tell them," Wendy giggled. She was tipsy, Irene was sure, or else she wouldn't be talking nonsense.

"You're drunk," Irene told her.

"I'm not! Now tell them or else I will."

_Oh, hell no_. Wendy talking about their confession was okay. But tipsy Wendy talking about it was a huge no.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell them!" Irene sighed. She hated this game.

_This is it. Here goes nothing._

"So," she cleared her throat, "It all started six years ago..."

**[Flashback]**

Jooyhun couldn't be more happy. She had been a trainee for so many years and her time had finally come. She would become an idol. _Her dream came true._

Her new manager informed her that she would be debuting with her three best friends, Seulgi, Sooyoung and Seungwan. Her fourth best friend, Yerim, would join them officially a year after their debut because she was too young.

They trained together every day, they ate together and soon they would live together in their very own dorm. Just like every K-pop group. Joohyun was glad that she was going to be in a group with these four girls - They were meant to be.

Joohyun wouldn't admit it, but the fact that Seungwan was going to be with her, made her even more excited. The two were inseparable since the moment they had met. Joohyun always found herself searching for Seungwan whenever she entered the practice room. She always texted Seungwan first when something exciting happened. She always found herself thinking about her at night...

She felt like they were something more than best friends. And she hoped Seungwan felt that way too. They had known each other for about three weeks and Joohyun decided that day was the right time to tell her how she felt, since they were both in a happy mood because of their debut news.

Joohyun had been thinking about this moment for quite some time now, she had even planned the whole conversation in her head in case Seungwan didn't like her _that_ way; she would pretend it was just an early April fools joke.

But the fact that she had everything planned, didn't make her any less nervous when Seungwan - soon to be Wendy - arrived at their secret meeting spot. If she'd rehearsed this conversation once, she'd rehearsed it a thousand times, it had to end. Now that she'd got to their spot, her mouth had gone dry and her heart was beating more forcefully than it usually did.

"So..." Joohyun started hesitantly.

"So..." Seungwan playfully mimicked her, earning a giggle from her. Really, Seungwan could simply breathe and Joohyun would burst out laughing. She made her so happy.

"How are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm good."

All the reasons not to do this came flooding in, as if her body chemistry just sent them a blanket invitation. Joohyun felt the soft panic that could grow or fade depending on what she did next. It would fade if she backed away, but then she would have to do this all again another time - because there was no way she could keep these feelings to herself. It would grow if she let these thoughts swirl into a vortex of stupidity, eating their own tail.

"Just good?" Seungwan asked with a smirk, making Joohyun come back to reality.

"I'm great," Joohyun tried to take a few steps back. The younger girl's face was way too close to hers and it was messing up her thoughts. But the tiny storeroom near the practice room made it difficult to make any kind of movement. They called this place their 'meeting spot' for some odd reason.

"Why did you call me here?" Seungwan crossed her arms and leaned on the wall next to her, and she looked _oh so hot_ like that.

"I just wanted to see you, that's all," Joohyun fidgeted. She was starting to get real nervous.

Seungwan raised an eyebrow, "Liar."

"I'm not lying."

"You definetly are!"

"Okay, I am," Joohyun admitted. There was no point trying, Seungwan could always tell when the older one was lying. She could read her like an open book.

"I knew it," Seungwan smirked.

"Stop smirking. It's annoying."

"You like it."

"I do. A lot. But that doesn't make it any less annoying."

Seungwan chuckled and rolled her eyes, "Why did you call me?" She poked Joohyun's belly.

"Don't poke me."

"Why did you call me?" Seungwan repeated in a baby voice and started tickling Joohyun.

"Hey, stop it!" Joohyun managed to say through giggles.

"Tell me!" Seungwan pouted.

_Oh, no, not that pout_. Joohyun wanted to kiss it away.

Seungwan attempted to poke Joohyun's side one more time, but the latter was too fast for her. She jerked backwards, escaping from Seungwan's naughty fingers but stumbling on a big shelf, making everything on top of it fall.

Seconds later they found themselves lying on the floor, under a pile of dusty boxes.

"I'm sorry-"

"I like you. More than just a friend."

_Great job, Joohyun_. There wasn't a better way to confess than while lying on top of your crush, under countless heavy dirty boxes.

"Really?" Seungwan looked at her with wide eyes, and the older one wished it was because she was surprised and not disgusted or scared.

Joohyun coughed, either because there was too much dust flying around the room or because she wanted to gain time. Probably both.

They stared back at each other for what seemed like hours until Joohyun finally dropped her gaze, “Yes,” her voice was quieter now, almost shy. She looked back up at the younger one; a gentle flush of pink had arisen in her cheeks that made her look vulnerable.

Seungwan gave her a smile brighter than the sun, "I like you too. A lot."

Joohyun's heart melted right then and there. She didn't know she could fall even harder for this girl, but she did.

She wanted to kiss her, show her how she felt for her. Sometimes words weren't enough. Looking at the younger one's eyes brought many sinful thoughts in Joohyun's mind, so she looked away before it was too late. After all, she didn't want their first kiss to be in that ugly storeroom.

(...)

One week later Joohyun dragged the younger one in their secret meeting spot and kissed the hell out of her. After a lot of thought, she decided that there wasn't a better place to share their first kiss.

A storeroom full of memories.

**[End of flashback]**

Before Irene could even finish the story, the two maknaes bursted in laughter. Irene crossed her arms, "There's nothing funny about this story."

"Oh, there is," Joy said through laughs.

_It's okay_, Irene thought, _they're going to forget about it in a few days._

"I'm never going to stop talking about this!"

_Or not_.

"You forgot the best part, unnie!" Seulgi said.

"There's more?" Irene eyed Seulgi suspiciously. Seulgi nodded, "Before their first kiss Wendy was very nervous and asked me what to do if Irene kissed her and I told her to kiss her back. Wendy looked at me confused and asked, 'Okay, but why her back?'"

_Damn it, Seulgi._

"I'm screaming!"

"I can't breathe!"

The maknaes fell on their backs, laughing once again harder than ever.

"Thanks a lot, Seulgi," Irene muttered. She looked over at Wendy who was fast asleep on the floor. The girl never handled alcohol well.

"I'm taking her to our room. The game is over. Goodnight." Irene dragged the sleeping beauty in their room, trying her best to ignore the annoying snickers and the comments.

-


	2. Two.

_Practice - Live stages - Practice - Meetings - Practice_

That was how their days went by. They barely had time for food or sleep but they didn't mind, because at the end of the day they were full of love from their fans and that was enough for them. Reveluvs made them the happiest, they were their everything. After a long tiring day the only thing that mattered was their fans' happiness.

Practice makes perfect, they said, and Red Velvet truly believed in this saying. That was why once again they found themselves in the practice room late at night.

"Five, six, seven, eight,"

The girls followed the choreographer's voice, step by step, dancing rhythmically to their upcoming song 'Really Bad Boy'. They had been preparing for this comeback for quite sometime and they even had to delay it for _'better quality'_ as their company explained. The girls loved the new mini album, their new outfits were amazing and the songs in the album were tuneful and mellifluous. Irene's personal favourite was 'Taste'.

"And we're done! Good job girls!" the choreographer gave a high five to each girl, thanking them for working hard. They waved the young woman goodbye and took their time to catch their breath and do some stretching.

"I think I'm going to pass out," Yeri lay on the dirty wooden floor of the practice room.

"Yeri! Don't lie there, it's dirty!" Irene scolded her like the mum she was. She quickly grabbed the girl's arm and forced her to stand up. Yeri groaned in response.

"We'll be back in the dorm in no time and you'll sleep in your bed," the mother of the group added giving a ray of hope to all the members, "Now, all of you, gather up your things. We're leaving."

The four younger girls whined in unison but followed their leader's order anyways. Whose idea was it to practice at two in the morning anyway and why did the choreographer agree?

"Come on! Don't be lazy! We have lots of things to do tomorrow, we need to sleep," Irene clapped her hands, the sound of her claps piercing the girls' ears.

"Unnie, stop! My head hurts!"

"Irene you're being annoying."

Once again the girls complained but Irene was used to it by now. After a few minutes of complaints and even a small fight, the girls left the practice room.

(...)

"My brain is on five percent battery, so if y'all don't mind, I'm gonna take some time to rest and soak in the bathtub," Joy announced once they entered the dorm.

"I need to take a shower. You better be quick." Yeri threatened her with her small eyes.

"What part from 'I'm gonna take some time' didn't you understand," Joy clapped back.

"Girls it's too late for this, please stop. Yeri you can shower in my room," Irene pinched the bridge of her nose. The fact that these girls were ready to pass out because of tiredness but still had enough energy to fight was unbelievable. Yeri stuck her tongue out and mocked Joy, earning a slap on the shoulder.

"I'm going to sleep," Seulgi announced and fell on the couch, snoring seconds later.

"Should we go to bed too?" Irene saw Wendy nod.

Only when all the girls had settled in their beds, Irene felt free to go to sleep next to her already sleeping girlfriend. She changed into her pyjamas and joined the younger girl in bed after turning the lights off. She reverently rubbed her fingers along the silken mattress. She pressed her cheek to the cool, velvet pillows. The comforter was thick and irresistibly soft, like a billowing cloud. She toppled into it, relieved to rest her weary feet. The young leader wanted nothing more than to lay down and be enveloped by the warmth of silence.

"Irene!"

Irene jolted at the sound of Wendy's voice, her heart skipped a beat, "Oh my god, Wendy, I thought you were sleeping," she placed a hand on her beating heart. The leader was very sensitive to loud sounds, and got surprised very easily, just like a bunny.

Wendy quickly turned around to face her, "When butterflies fall in love, do they feel humans in their stomach?"

Irenr rubbed her brow to ward off the upcoming headache, "Wendy it's three in the morning, please go back to sleep, you're tired."

"No, I'm not."

"Go to sleep, I'm tired."

Wendy pouted and usually Irene would kiss her pouts away, but this time she stopped herself from doing so.

"Sleep. Now."

"Jeez, okay mum," Wendy turned around, leaving the leader alone in silence once again. She could finally get some sleep-

"Irene..."

"Wendy, I swear-"

"It's serious this time!"

With a long sigh, Irene turned the light on the bedside table on and sat on the bed, "If it's not serious, you're sleeping on the couch."

"But Seulgi fell asleep there-"

"Seungwan."

When Irene called Wendy by her real name she was dead serious.

"Okay, okay! It's just..." Wendy sat next to her, "Who closes the door when the bus driver gets off?"

Irene closed her eyes. She didn't respond. Biting her bottom lip in order to contain herself from losing it, she turned around, turned the light off and lay down, back facing her girlfriend.

"But it was a serious question..." she heard Wendy mumble. Irene didn't reply and thankfully Wendy took the message and went back to sleep.

That was what Irene's every day life looked like; crazy maknaes fighting all day, a sleepy bear always wanting food and a silly girlfriend asking the stupidest things in the world. Irene loved it.

(...)

Irene awoke to soft sheets, and the morning light trickled in through the blinds. Shedding herself of the remaining glimpses of a dream, her eyes were still shut as she soaked in the warmth of the covers, but it wasn't warm enough and that's when she realised Wendy wasn't next to her anymore. It was pretty weird because Irene always woke up before her. Slowly and reluctantly, she uncovered her face. She blinked, closed her eyes, and blinked again. Streaks of sunlight penetrated the window and blinded her. She sat up, dragged her feet off the bed, and rubbed her knuckles onto her eyes. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned.

Giggles, snickers and even small screams came from the living room and Irene had to go check what was going on before anything too crazy happened.

She opened the door and heard a loud bark. Pure terror surged through her veins, icy daggers straight to the heart. Right in front of her was standing a dog. Irene somehow screamed with her whole body. The eyes wide with horror, the mouth rigid and open, the fists clenched with blanched knuckles and the nails digging deeply into the palms of her hand. Boy, what a scream that was. It was the loudest most piercing scream the girls had heard from their leader.

Irene slammed the door with a loud bang and held on it, as if the dog was going to kick it open. Eyes widened, breaths ragged and harsh, her hands trembled. If fear was an animal it would definitely be a dog for Irene.

Suddenly Joy came knocking on the door, "Drama queen!"

Irene clenched her fists, "Why is that thing in my living room."

"It's a dog!"

"I asked why!"

"Her name is Haetnim!"

"Joy-"

"I can't hear you unnie, you have to come out!"

"There's no way I'm coming out-"

Before Irene could finish Joy slammed the door open with the dog in her hands, "Look at her!"

"Joy! Take it away from me! Who brought this here!" Irene cried like a five year old.

"First of all, it's a she, second of all, I brought her here. I adopted her!" Joy smiled and the little dog let another happy bark.

Irene jumped at the sound, and ran into the living room (avoiding Joy with ninja moves) and fell into Seulgi's arms, who had been standing right out of her room.

"Isn't she cute, unnie?" Seulgi hugged the childish leader tight. Irene buried her head into Seulgi's neck, as if that was going to save her from the little dog, "No. Please take it away."

"You're such a crybaby, unnie," Joy came out of the room. Irene didn't dare to look. Wendy and Yeri came laughing at Irene, "Irene, the dog is smaller than your baby hands, it could barely harm you."

"I don't have baby hands."

"So, can we keep her?" Joy asked. Irene would have laughed if she didn't feel so threatened by the dogs presence. She left Seulgi's arms and took a few steps back when she noticed how close Joy was standing to her with the dog.

"The answer is no and nothing is going to change my mind," Irene wasn't a strict leader. She was just being reasonable.

"I knew it," Joy rolled her eyes, "Time for plan two. Seul, you coming?" Seulgi nodded and they quickly left the dorm.

Irene stood confused, "What's plan two?"

"She's going to her parents' house." Wendy answered, "Hopefully, they'll keep her."

"Why did she take Seulgi with her?"

Wendy shrugged, "For support I guess."

"You're no fun, unnie. Haetnim is the nicest dog I've met," Yeri whined.

"Since when do you even like dogs?"

"Since I met Haetnim," Yeri pouted and walked into her room, "She will be missed."

Irene frowned. She would do anything to make her members happy. Anything except for that.

"It's okay, Irene, you can't always make everyone happy," Wendy told her as if she was reading her thoughts. Irene nodded and fell into her girlfriend's arms. She felt extra clingy these days.

"Want to go for some coffee?" Wendy suggested. Irene would never say no to a date with Wendy.

(...)

Minutes later the couple found themselves sitting at small table at the furthest corner of a coffee shop close to their dorm. They were wearing masks, caps and even hoodies in order to hide themselves from the people in the busy coffee shop. The coffee shop was usually empty except for a few old couples, so the girls were taken aback by the crazy amount of people that day.

"Do you think fans found out about us coming here? It's never been so crowded here before."

"I don't think so. You worry too much."

The air was thick with the scent of coffee and although Irene drunk in the aroma like everyone else she would never admit she hated it. She hated coffee with a passion but Wendy loved this coffee shop so she tried to bear with it. She could easily order something else do drink, but her body was in need of caffeine or else she would fall asleep in the practice room. The steam that had risen from the coffee when Irene first placed it on the table was quite gone. The top bore the tell tale signs of a skin forming. Still she sat there with her hands clasped around it, as if she liked the idea of drinking it but lacked the will power to lift it to her lips. Last night's sleep wasn't the best for her and the eventful morning didn't help either.

Irene winced as she sipped her coffee - it was tepid, overly bitter and lacking real cream. It was a source of caffeine though and so she drank like a sailor new to whiskey. She put the coffee down with tight pursed lips. She had been expecting enough heat to bring her out of her winter slumber but instead it was tepid like old bath water. Wendy laughed at her reaction.

"Why do you keep drinking this, you loath it."

"I need something to wake me up."

"I can wake you up," Wendy sent her a naughty wink.

"You kept me awake all night with your silly questions, I think you've done enough."

"They weren't silly!"

"You woke up at 5am and asked me; 'if an ambulance is on its way to save someone, and it runs someone over, does it stop to help them?'"

"I was curious!"

"Why would I know the answer!"

"Because you're smart!"

A few people turned their heads to look at the two girls having a silly fight. The girls noticed and covered their faces with their masks.

"You're being too loud," Irene angrily whispered. Wendy rolled her eyes. They were a weird couple. Even without telling a soul it was common knowledge that Wendy and Irene were lovers. It was in the way their gazes lingered on one another, the way their voices became softer and in the shy grins they'd never worn before. In casual conversation they stood that little bit closer than folks usually do, their body language so open and relaxed. They tried their best not to show all this when they were in public but it was almost impossible. You can't hide love.

"I'm sorry..." Wendy softly mumbled. Irene smiled, "I'm not mad."

Wendy pouted as she always did after their silly fights, "You sure?" She took Irene's small hand in hers and softly rubbed it with her thumb.

"Yes, I'm sure," Irene looked into her girlfriend's eyes. Her eyes were so different in moments like these, more soft than Irene knew eyes could be. The playfulness in them was gone and instead it was the eyes of one who loved deeply. If it had been anyone else Irene would drop her gaze, but with her she was drawn in closer, always wanting more. Then Wendy said the words she needed to hear, "I love you," Irene just smiled, taking in every moment for her memory, knowing it was the medication she needed to survive the upcoming days.

"Irene? Wendy?"

The two girls turned their heads only to see two SM workers standing in front of them. These two came across the girls pretty often around the SM building, making it easy for them to recognise them even with masks and caps on.

The girls immediately unclasped their hands.

"Oh, hello," Irene bowed politely to them and so did Wendy.

"I've never seen you two here before, do you come often?" one of them asked.

"Um, not really..." Wendy was a bad liar.

"You should join us, there's also Mark sitting there," the other one said, and pointed at a table Irene couldn't even see through the crowd of people in the waiting line. She also didn't know who this Mark was and what these guys' names were, and she didn't really care, but they acted as if they had known Irene for years. If Irene and Wendy weren't famous these guys wouldn't care less.

"Actually, we were about to leave. We have a busy schedule today," Irene gave them a tight lipped smile and stood up. Wendy followed along, and they left the coffee shop in a rush.

"You're such a liar," Wendy laughed.

"Did you want to join them? I didn't."

"I don't even know their names! I've seen them a few times around SM but that's it."

"Do you think they noticed our hands?" Irene worried.

"We always hold hands, even on stage. What concerns me the most is the fact that I said 'I love you' seconds before they came," Wendy sighed. It was difficult to hide a relationship. Even after so many years of hiding the girls still found it exhausting. All they wanted to do is go on dates and kiss in public without worrying about secret cameras or sasaeng fans.

"I hope they didn't hear it," Irene got lost in thoughts. The two guys hadn't shown any sign of hearing their conversation which was good. But then again, what if they did? Would they call their manager? Would they post it on Twitter? Even worse, _would they tell Dispatch?_

"It's okay. Everything's going to be fine," Wendy linked their arms and held her close. Sometimes Irene didn't care. She didn't care about what the fans would say or what their manager would do. She only wanted to show the world how much she loved this woman.

When they locked eyes on stage, Irene found herself ready to risk it all and kiss her right then and there. The amount of self control Irene needed to keep her feelings for herself was unbelievable. Why not reveal it to the world? What could possibly go wrong?

_So many things could go wrong._

They wouldn't only risk their career but also the other three girls' career.

Irene sighed. The headache was back.

"We have practice in half an hour. Should we go straight to the practice room or do you want to go home first?"

_Home_. Irene smiled at the word.

"I want to go home."

(...)

Red Velvet came back with their new song 'Really Bad Boy'. The girls were very excited and slightly nervous, but they knew their fellow fans would support them and help the song become a big hit. The day of the comeback was always the most stressful one.

"They didn't like it."

"Look at all the dislikes."

"We disappointed them."

Joy was having a mental breakdown. The girls had just returned to their dorm after their comeback live stage, and immediately opened Twitter, Instagram, Melon and all kind of apps to see their comeback news. The song didn't do well on the charts, fans left lots of negative comments and the music video had so many dislikes. The girls were disappointed but not surprised. This comeback was very different from what they had done before.

Joy didn't seem to take the news well. The girl had been practicing harder than ever, both her dancing and her vocals. All the stress and the tiredness became tears in Joy's eyes.

"Sooyoung, don't worry, I'm pretty sure reveluvs will support us," Wendy patted the younger one's back, "They always do,"

Joy wiped her tears, "But they didn't like the song,"

"That's not the only song in the album. There are five more songs in the album, they're definitely going to like them," the leader explained. That seemed to calm Joy down, "You're right," she sniffed. Yeri and Seulgi looked disappointed too but they were better at hiding it.

"I think we should all go to sleep now. We'll discuss about this tomorrow. It's getting late and we had a rough day," Irene suggested, earning a nod from the girls. She watched as they slowly disappeared to their rooms, "Don't worry too much about it, Sooyoung. Goodnight," she softly said to the younger girl. Joy gave her a small smile and closed the door.

Irene went into her room too and joined her girlfriend in bed. Wendy automatically wrapped her arms around her and put a leg over her belly, breathing softly in her face. "Do you think the song will do better on the charts tomorrow?" she asked softly. "Definetly," Irene placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Joy looks exhausted these days, she spends way too many hours in the practice room,"

"I know, she really wanted this comeback to do well," Joy was a perfectionist, she wanted everything to be perfect and when it wasn't she freaked out. "It's only the first day, we shouldn't come to conclusions," they both knew this was pretty much a lie, since the first day of all comebacks determined the success of the song, but they hoped this time it was different.

"Can I ask you something?" Wendy murmured as she buried her head into her neck. Her lips tickled Irene's skin.

"Of course,"

"Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?"

Her girlfriend was the most random person in the world. Sometimes Irene felt like Wendy couldn't sleep at night if she didn't ask at least one stupid question. Irene chose whether to answer them or not depending on her mood.

"Because babies don't have to worry about anything in their sleep," Irene sighed. She really wanted to sleep like a baby but life wouldn't let her. She felt Wendy nod on her neck, satisfied with her response.

"Goodnight baby," Irene felt Wendy smile.

-


	3. Three.

After a long day, Irene sat alone in her room and although she was exhausted, she really wanted to do something besides sleeping. Irene loved being busy with music shows, meetings, fansigns and practice. She loved doing stuff for her fans and that was why, even though she had a only a few hours free, she decided to do an Instagram live for her dear reveluvs. With her pyjamas on, Irene set her phone on top of the small desk in her room and opened Instagram. Before starting the live she brushed her hair and washed her face. She didn't want the fans to see an ugly mess this late at night. She sat comfortably on the desk chair, bringing her knees close to her body and tried to start the live. It took her a few tries, but finally managed to do it after remembering Yeri's instructions. Reveluvs would be so happy when they saw the '@redvelvet.smtown started a live video' notification and especially when they saw her face. Irene rarely went live.

"Hello," she waved at the camera. In less than half a minute thousands of fans were watching, and many of them left heart warming comments. Irene could barely read them. They were moving way too fast for her.

"Why are you still awake, unnie?" Irene managed to read one of the comments.

"Ah, it's not late. It's still eleven," she told the worried fan after checking the clock on the wall. She didn't really know what to talk about, she only wanted to read the fans' comments and answer their questions.

"How was your day, luvies?" she asked cutely. Seconds later long paragraphs appeared on her screen. She tried to read some of them, "You went to the amusement park today? That sounds like a lot of fun!" she replied to one of them.

Millions of comments flashed through Irene's eyes.

_Loved your new comeback!_

_Where are the other members?_

_Do you like BTS?_

_Please post a selca!_

Irene couldn't answer them all. Suddenly an idea came into her mind, "Should I sing something for you?" she asked them. She didn't have to look at the comments, the answer was always yes.

The leader took Wendy's forgotten phone from the bed and searched for a good song. Wendy had all kind of songs in her playlist; pop, jazz, rock, alternative, even lullabies for kids.

"Let me find the perfect song," she told reveluvs. All these songs in Wendy's playlist made it quite difficult for her to choose just one.

The sound of someone opening and closing the door made her look away from the phone.

"Hey baby, do you know where my phone is?" Wendy came in. Irene's breath hitched, eyes widened. She could feel it, building like an unstoppable snowball in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't concentrate back on the live. The next step was her heart starting to beat harder and faster. She didn't dare to look at the camera, her eyes frozen on Wendy. _Did they hear it?_

"Um, I'm doing a live, Wendy," a panicked Irene mumbled, warning that way the younger one. Wendy stopped looking around for her phone and locked eyes with Irene, noticing the panic in her eyes. "What?" she stepped closer to her. Irene pointed at the phone, finding it difficult to talk.

Realisation hit Wendy harder than a truck. Her brain stuttered for a moment and every part of her went on pause while her thoughts caught up. Then in that instant her skin became white, her mouth hung with lips slightly parted and her eyes were as wide as they could stretch. "Oh my god..."

"I have your phone. I was searching for a song to sing," Irene quickly tried to cover their shock, "But maybe I should..."

Maybe she should end the live. Wendy waved her hands around in panic, 'no!' she mouthed. Thankfully, the viewers couldn't see her. "Don't end it! It will be suspicious!" she continued to mouth. She was clearly having a small panic attack. Irene nodded and finally gathered up enough courage to look at the camera.

"Looks like Wendy will be joining me tonight."

More like 'I'm not dealing with the mess you created alone.'

"I, um, yeah! Hello luvies!" Wendy put on her best smile as she appeared on everyone's screen. Irene left some space for Wendy on the chair and patted the spot next to her. Wendy joined her on the chair and automatically wrapped an arm around her. Irene almost face palmed. That was why they never went live together...

"So, I was about to sing for our reveluvs, would you like to sing with me?" Irene continued the live as normally as she could. She tried her best not to look at the comments, even though her eyes caught a few.

_Wenrene!!_

_Wendy called her baby?!?!_

_Where is Joy?_

_Wenrene is real!_

_Baby?!?!_

Of course Wendy agreed and suggested a few songs. They decided to start with Wendy's song with John Legend, 'Written In The Stars'. Wendy was very proud of that song.

The younger one found the song in her phone and the couple started singing together. As they sang, Irene found it difficult -_ almost impossible_ \- not to stare at Wendy in awe. Irene struggled with the lyrics, so she gave up and just stared at Wendy throughout the whole song. Mesmerized was an understatement. Irene forgot about the live for a few seconds and just stared at Wendy with pure love in her eyes. These two really shouldn't be left alone, especially when fans were watching.

(...)

"Why are you watching this?" Wendy asked Joy with a giggle. Joy was watching one of Seulgi's latest fancam with her headphones on. The younger one jolted, turning off the phone, "Watching what?" Wendy laughed at Joy's reaction, "Seulgi's fancam."

"I was just," Joy couldn't find the right words to form a sentence. Wendy eyed her suspiciously, "Okay...?"

The five girls were on their way to Music Bank for another live stage. Irene turned out to be right the other day; the song was currently dominating the charts.

Before the live stage, the group got in the dressing room, hairstylists and managers running around to get them ready on time. When they were done, they left the dressing room, leaving the girls alone to have some private time.

"I'm hungry," Seulgi whined while she fixed her hair.

"You always are," Yeri chuckled.

"Unnie, can we order chicken when we get to the dorm?"

"Sure, Seulgi," the leader muttered from the couch, "You're paying, though," Seulgi revealed her puppy eyes that no one could say no to, but Irene was too focused on someone else to notice.

"I'll pay," Joy told the main dancer, earning a smile.

Irene stared at Wendy with a weird expression, making the latter worried. She frowned and walked closer to her, "Is something wrong?" Irene shook her head. Wendy raised an eyebrow, "You sure?" Irene looked up at her from the couch and bit her lip, "Follow me," she ordered and grabbed Wendy's hand.

"Where are you going?" Joy asked the couple, "We have a stage in less than half an hour,"

"We'll be back before the live starts," Irene quickly said and hurried out of the room with Wendy on her side. "Where are we going?" Wendy asked her.

"Anywhere we can be alone,"

Wendy's eyes widened. Now _that_ explained why Irene looked at her like she was a snack. The older one found a random room and pushed Wendy inside. Before the door had even properly closed Irene wrapped her arms around her from behind, leaving kisses up and down her neck. One inhale of her sweet scent and Wendy wanted to turn around. Irene's right hand dropped to her thigh, pulling up the skirt that hung just above her knees. Wendy couldn't move even if she had tried, like Irene's fingers had short circuited her mind in the best possible way. Irene turned her around and they tumbled on a wooden chair, Irene on her lap and eyes searching Wendy's. Next thing she knew, Irene had slammed her lips to hers and nearly knocked all wind from her lungs. Wendy hardly had a moment to react before Irene pressed her tongue to the seam of her lips and, at her grant of access, delved inside her mouth. Her arms reached up and tangled around her neck.

"Irene," Wendy pulled away to catch her breath, "What's gotten into you?" Irene answered with another rough kiss, biting and licking her lips, slowly moving to her neck. As much as Wendy loved where this was going, they were in a random unlocked room, where anyone could come in any second.

"Irene," Wendy tried to say but it came out as a breathy moan. Irene paused for a second. She looked into Wendy's eyes and waited for her to continue. Once Wendy stopped panting she did so, "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"We can't do it here,"

"It's been so long since we last-"

"We can't do it here, baby," Wendy repeated after she regained her sanity. Irene's lust turned into disappointment.

"Don't call me baby."

"What? Why?"

"Because it makes me want you even more," Irene finished and left Wendy's lap. "Okay," Wendy stood up too, "Baby," she finished with a smirk. Irene slapped her arm, "It's not funny," Wendy laughed.

The leader left the room, annoyed, Wendy running to keep up with her pace, "I'm sorry, but we really can't do it here," she explained. Irene's eyes softened, "I know... but you look so good in this outfit," she glanced at her body. Wendy blushed at the way she was looking at her. The couple went back to the dressing room, where the other girls were waiting.

"Damn, what happened to your hair, unnie?" Yeri asked once Wendy entered the room behind Irene. Wendy reached up to touch her hair; it was a mess. That exact moment their manager came into the room, "It's time!" he said, meaning that the girls should go on stage. Wendy panicked and quickly grabbed a brush and followed the others.

"Irene," she whispered while they were walking towards the stage, "Help,"

The leader turned to look at her and almost burst into laughter when she saw her hair. "How did I not notice this mess?" she giggled and took the brush from Wendy's hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this," a small laugh escaped her lips. Wendy couldn't help but laugh too, "It's okay,"

"One minute!" the manager yelled and the girls ran on the stage.

(...)

Later that day the girls returned to their dorm. Although they had busy and tiring days, Wendy and Irene always found some time at the end of the day to talk. Their current conversation topic was Joy and Seulgi's suspicious acts.

"Any update on the joygi case?"

"I caught Joy watching a Seulgi fancam in the car."

"This is gold!"

They had been spying on the two girls since a few months ago, secretly watching their every move. The 'joygi' case was getting more and more exciting with each passing day.

"We should make a bet," Irene suggested.

"A bet?" Wendy looked up from her phone. Irene set the book she had been reading on the bedside table and sat next to Wendy. "Yeah, a bet. I'd be fun,"

"What kind of bet?"

Irene smiled, having everything planned, "You believe that they like each other but will never do something about it. I think they're secretly dating. Whoever's right wins."

"Interesting," Wendy stroked her chin in thought, "I'm obviously going to win. Why would they be hiding their relationship from us?"

"Because they want to keep it to themselves,"

"That's stupid," Wendy rolled her eyes, "Get ready to lose. What's the prize?"

"Twenty dollars and a massage."

"You had this planned didn't you?"

Irene gave her a cunning smirk. Wendy laughed, "How are you so sure you're going to win?"

"I never lose," a determined Irene answered. Wendy felt like backing away because it was true, Irene never lost, but she didn't. Instead, she took Irene's hand into a handshake, "Deal."

"Great," Irene smiled and lay down, satisfied, "This is going to be lots of fun."

Wendy found Irene's excitement adorable, "Indeed."

-


	4. Four.

"I can't believe you broke the bed," Yeri laughed.

"You two must've gotten pretty wild last night," Joy snickered. Irene rolled her eyes at Joy's inappropriate comment. Yes, it was true, Wendy and Irene broke the bed in Irene's room last night, but it was an accident! They were just... playing a silly game.

_"I bet you can't jump high enough to touch the ceiling!"_

_"Watch me!"_

Irene was very competitive. _Too competitive._ Wendy and Irene had this weird type of energy sometimes at night, that made them act like kids and do stupid things. Last night was one of those.

"I ordered a new bed and it's big, almost as big as Joy's," Wendy came into the room with her phone in hand. Joy's bed was unnecessarily big for one person, let alone a person like Joy who was very small (but still taller than everyone else in the dorm).

Irene loved the idea of finally having a king sized bed to share with Wendy, after struggling for so many years in the tiny bed in her room. Wendy had suggested they moved her own bed to Irene's room but the idea turned out to be a mess; every time they cuddled the connected beds would separate. One time Wendy fell on the ground in the middle of the night and that was when they had decided that they needed a new idea. The new bed would be a blessing. Irene was low-key happy they broke the old one.

"I'm going out with Saeron, see you later grannies," the maknae of the group waved everyone goodbye. "Grannies," Irene mumbled, "Watch your mouth, young lady!" she yelled from the couch. Yeri waved a lazy hand, "Yeah, yeah, sure," and left. Wendy sat next to Irene, "The new bed is going to be here in an hour," she smiled. She was excited too. "Try not to break this one," Joy teased as she put on her coat.

"Where are you going?" Irene asked ignoring her comment. Joy helped Seulgi put on her coat, "We're going to visit Haetnim," she smiled, "We'll be back before your new bed arrives," she sent the two women on the couch a wink, "Don't break the couch too."

"I told you it was an accident!"

"Bye!" Joy waved before Irene could finish her sentence, "Let's go," she turned to Seulgi and they walked away. Irene swore she saw them link arms before the door closed.

"You saw that?" Wendy saw too.

"Oh yeah," Irene chuckled. Wendy always knew what she was thinking.

Irene's gaze slid to the side. Her girlfriend wrapped her arms around her in a moment and Irene let her head rest upon her shoulder. All her thoughts stopped as if her heart took over from her head when they were close. Irene doubted anyone else would ever feel the way she did about being in her arms. Irene swore this girl was an expert on keeping her heart beating. Without her she was sure it would simply stop. How was she to put their love into mere words? An entire ocean of ink wouldn’t be enough to describe them.

Wendy linked her fingers into Irene's hand and shot her a look that was all love, just the right hint of softness, a crease at the corners of her eyes. Irene leaned in for a kiss, the kind she wanted to last forever, but after a time she withdrew to gaze at the face she loved so much. Wendy glided her hand over her skin to her face. "Have I ever told you I love you?" 

Irene grinned. Yes, Wendy had told her a million times, but she couldn't get enough. "No, never," she shook her head and fought away a grin. Wendy's hand had migrated to her hair, pushing it back from her face. "Well, I do."

"I love you too," Irene leaned in for another kiss.

"So," Wendy started, "What do you want to do while we wait for the bed?" Irene looked at Wendy suspiciously. She could tell what Wendy wanted to do only by hearing the tone of her voice. Her voice was suddenly sounding deeper, and throaty too, as if she was trying to seduce her. Wendy’s passions always arrived unannounced. Irene smirked, "I don't know. Do you have any idea?"

"Well," Wendy placed a hand on her thigh, "I have something in mind," Irene didn't have to hear anything else. She sat up and straddled Wendy's hips.

“Baby-” she cut her off by kissing her lips. Wendy kissed back, her hands coming up to her neck and hair. Irene pulled away. She grabbed her hands gently and placed them back down. “No touching,” she whispered. “That’s not fair,” Wendy sulked. Irene brought a finger up to her lips and kissed her again. It was a slow process but she wanted to enjoy it, but most of all, she wanted to torture Wendy. Their lips fitted perfectly-- as if they were meant for each other. Moving against each other, feeling each other. Irene grabbed the back of Wendy's neck, growling in the kiss as Wendy whimpered in pleasure.

She stopped kissing her lips and moved to her jawline, neck, and collarbone. Kissing every inch, she could feel Wendy struggling to keep her hands down. She placed soft butterfly kisses down her chest, pulling the collar of her shirt down for better access.

“Joohyun,” Wendy whispered her name. Irene could hear and feel her desperation to use her hands. She sat up, still straddling her and gently took her hands and placed them on her hips.

“Your turn,” she whispered into her ear and bit her earlobe. Wendy's hands instantly flipped Irene over, throwing her on the couch. She buried her head into Irene's neck and her hands rove all over her body. Their breathing then became rough and fast.

“Should we take this to our bedroom?” Wendy asked while kissing Irene's collarbone. Her hands soft and warm - on her face, on her chest.

"We don't have a bed, silly," Irene smiled between their kisses. "Oh, right," Wendy chuckled and slid her hands under Irene's shirt. Before she could take the shirt off a loud knock on the door interrupted them. The two girls jumped apart. "Who is it?" Wendy asked annoyed as she stood up. Irene laughed at her girlfriend's reaction, fixed her hair and clothes and went to the door.

"Hello," Joy appeared behind the door with a huge box behind her and Seulgi standing next to it. Irene looked confused, "What are you doing here? And what's that?"

"That's Seulgi."

Irene facepalmed, "I'm talking about the box!"

"Oh, that's your new bed," Joy smiled and dragged the box in the dorm.

"Our bed? Why do you have it?" Wendy came.

"Because," Joy panted after moving the huge box, "While we were walking down the street, we saw two guys with this box in their hands and Seulgi said it looked like a bed was inside, so we asked them where they were going,"

"And surprisingly they were coming here, so we followed them," Seulgi continued. Wendy frowned, "Where are they now?"

"One of them fell down the stairs and broke his leg, we called an ambulance and told them not to worry about the bed and they left."

"What?!"

"Yeah," Joy shrugged, "We have to put it together by ourselves since they couldn't come."

Irene looked at the huge box, "Can we?" Joy waved her hand, "Of course we can," she dragged the box into Irene's room with Seulgi's help. Wendy mumbled under her breath making Irene laugh, "We will continue what we started later," she sent a wink her way, earning a smirk.

"The bed isn't going to assemble itself!" they heard Joy yell from the bedroom. The couple groaned and went to help the girls.

-

this chapter is small because it is a filler-chapter, hope you like it thank you for reading.


	5. Five.

"Do you really have to do this?"

Wendy and Seulgi were getting ready to leave for a late night photo shoot for a magazine. Irene was very concerned because the had never gotten a night shoot before. The 94' liners told her to not worry.

"I told you, we're going to be fine, unnie,"

"Yeah, it's just a photo shoot, we'll be back in less than two hours," they explained to the leader. Irene wasn't satisfied with their answers but she couldn't keep them in the dorm forever. "Alright then," she sighed, "Have fun."

"Thank you, unnie," Seulgi hugged the leader after putting her coat on. Wendy gave her a small hug too and the girls grabbed their bags, ready to leave. "Forgetting something?" Irene grabbed Wendy's hand before she could leave. "Oh, right," Wendy said and gave the leader a soft kiss on the lips. Irene smiled, "I meant your earpods but thank you," she giggled and handed Wendy the earpods. "Oh, thank you," Wendy grinned, "Goodbye,"

"Bye bye," Irene said softly.

"Hey, where's Yeri?" Joy came from her room once the girls left. "She's sleeping at Saeron's house tonight," Irene answered. "Again?" Joy asked and sat on the couch. Irene did the same, "Yeah, they seem like they're really good friends,"

"Interesting," Joy laughed. All of them knew there was something going on between the maknae and her best friend, Saeron.

The two girls sat in the living room in silence for a few minutes, watching a weird TV show. "I'm bored," Joy said gaining Irene's attention. "What do you want to do?" Irene turned the TV off and waited for the girl's response. She immediately regretted asking once she saw the look in Joy's eyes. Her eyes shone with playfulness and Irene wondered what was on her naughty mind.

"Let's drink," Joy smirked. Irene closed her eyes. _She knew it_. If Irene was the mother of Red Velvet then Joy was definetly the naughtiest child in the family.

"No." Irene simply answered.

"Unnie," Joy wouldn't give up so easily, "It'll be fun. After all we haven't drunk since August or something. It's been almost five months!" she explained. Irene rolled her eyes, "That doesn't mean we have to drink,"

"It does."

"We don't even have anything to drink, and I'm not willing to go out this late at night to buy alcohol."

Joy laughed - an evil laugh - and ran into the kicthen. Seconds later she returned with many cans of beer and two glasses in her hands, "Surprise."

"Are you crazy? When did you get these?" Irene's eyes widened. "It doesn't matter," Joy waved a lazy hand, "Now quit being a loser and come drink with me," she patted the spot next to her on the couch. Irene was tempted - _too tempted_ to do this, but then again the leader of the group shouldn't act like that. But it had been so long since she last felt alcohol run through her system...

One beer wouldn't hurt, right?

"Give me that," Irene snatched the can out of Joy's hand, ignoring her annoying smirk. "Good unnie," Joy laughed, "You're learning," she added. Irene opened the can, careful not to ruin her perfectly manicured nails and poured the liquid in the glass, "I don't have anything to learn from you," she said glaring at the younger one. "Sure," Joy chugged the first can fast on an empty stomach to get the whole process going, then sipped at the second.

"Sooyoung! Take it easy," Irene warned her. She didn't want a drunk Joy in the dorm. Actually, she didn't want a drunk Joy anywhere. "Yeah, yeah. Now drink," Joy pushed the glass in Irene's hand toward her lips. Irene started having second thoughts about this.

She swirled the beer in her glass. Already the worries of her day were beginning to fade, even before the first taste. Just watching its gentle vortex was hypnotizing enough. When the liquid settled she brought it to her lips and let the fluid sit in her mouth a while before swallowing. She closed her eyes, dwelling only on the flavour. God it was good.

Alcohol was addicting, Irene realised a few minutes later. Joy had already drunk more than five cans, or was it six - Irene lost count. As for herself... She couldn't remember.

"Tiffany unnie texted you," Joy said as she opened her phone. Irene laughed for no reason at all, "What did she say?"

"She asked what you're doing at the moment," Joy showed her the text message. Irene laughed again, "Tell her we're robbing a bank," Joy laughed with her, "Alright," she opened the voice recorder and said, "Sorry unnie, she can't talk right now, we're robbing a bank,"

"This is hilarious!" Irene fell on her back, "Give me the phone," she said as she scooted closer to the girl. Tifanny had already replied with a concerned, "What?!" Irene opened the camera, "Don't worry, unnie. If we get caught we'll pretend we're drunk!" Irene recorded herself and sent the video to their sunbae. The two girls laughed in unison. They drunk in silence after that and so the night dragged on. Few words exchanged between them. And the words that were spoken were slurred and senseless.

Irene stood up and felt the earth rocking beneath her and her mind drifting in and out like the tide. Though her vision wavered, she could still see Joy in front of her drinking another glass. The harsh scent of drink could be smelt of her person, she could tell. She was struggling to keep her balance, it was like some sort of outer body experience. Joy grabbed her arm and pulled her back on the couch.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Irene slumped back on the couch next to the younger girl. The latter moved even closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "You smell good,” Joy paused to draw in her perfume, “Really good.”

Irene giggled, “You’re drunk,” she said dismissing her statement. “What?” Joy giggles to herself, “Absolutely not,” she said so leisurely and smoothly as though she enjoyed rolling the syllables out. Clearly, Joy was drunk. And so was Irene. She was the type of drunk who said she wasn't inebriated but got the giggles and started laughing to every single thing being uttered to her.

Joy smiled and inclined in again, snuffling the crook of her neck, “And you’re so warm,” she rested her forehead on Irene's shoulder and she felt the younger one's arms drape around her lower body. Joy respired deeply, her shoulders unfolding as she relaxed her entire body against Irene.

Irene admitted she liked having her weight against her. “You feel nice,” the younger one said, causing Irene to shudder at the rumble of her voice against her. She bit down on her bottom lip gently, “You feel nice too,”

Joy's smile faded, her expression grew deep. Her eyes stared intently back at Irene, examining her; surveying her. Her eyes travelled down to her lips; slowly she reached forward and pushed away loose strands of Irene's hair, “You know, I’ve always thought you were a good girl, but damn, you’ve got some bad girl lips,” she said, gazing at them with absorption.

Irene's giggles came to an end, "What's that supposed to mean?" she could barely finish the question before Joy crushed her lips on her. Irene gasped into the younger one's mouth. It didn't take long for her to give in, she closed her eyes and kissed her back. Irene's mind was going crazy. Her legs didn’t work as she told them. Neither did her hands. Or her fingers. Somewhere, deep inside she knew her brain was sending signals telling her what to do. Whether or not her body was listening was a different story. She could feel it moving. She could feel it doing what it wanted. It was doing as it pleased.

Joy's tongue was needy and sloppy in her mouth. The leader took charge then, cupping the other’s face as she went and placed wet kisses on her shoulder blades, her teeth grazing hungrily. Joy stood up with Irene in her hands, legs wrapped around her waist, and carried her in the bedroom.

She kicked Irene's door open and threw the leader on the bed, falling on top of her. Irene moaned as they kissed again, her hands sneaking up the tall girl's shirt.

Joy growled, attacking the leader's neck with sloppy kisses. She ground down in a need for friction, causing Irene to moan again. Their lips connected again, and they both began grinding—those stupid pants getting in the way.

"Seulgi," Joy breathed.

"Seungwan," Irene moaned.

(...)

"That was amazing. Best photo shoot we've done," Wendy said as she entered the dorm. "That's true, I enjoyed it a lot!" Seulgi smiled, taking off her coat and then her shoes. Wendy did the same.

"Where's everyone?" Wendy scanned the living room. Irene would usually sit on the couch, watching TV while waiting for the members to come back from late night schedules. The leader couldn't sleep if the members weren't back.

"Yeri said she'll sleep at Saeron's today," Seulgi replied. Wendy walked further into the living room and that was when she noticed the mess on the coffee table. "What happened here..." she mumbled as she picked up one of the many beer cans that were lying on the table. She looked at Seulgi in confusion. The girls fell silent, deep in thought. Then suddenly muffled voices and weird noises could be heard. Wendy frowned, "Did you hear that?" she turned to look at Seulgi who wore the same expression as her. "I did. Where did it come from?" Wendy paused in her steps and walked towards the source of the sound. Irene's room. Seulgi followed her and they opened the door.

Wendy's heart stopped. In front of her, on the bed, lay Irene with Joy on top of her doing things that Wendy didn't want to acknowledge. Blood drained from her face, "What the," Seulgi next to her was at a loss of words. At the sound of Wendy's voice the two women on the bed stopped their actions and turned to look at the newcomers.

"Seungwan!" Irene laughed when she saw the two girls, then turned to look at Joy, "Two Seungwans!"

It didn't take long for Wendy to connect the puzzle; from the beers outside to the giggling girls on the bed, she could tell they were drunk. At that moment Joy fell on Irene again, locking their lips. Wendy and Seulgi screamed. They immediately dragged Joy until she was lying as far as possible from Irene.

"Don't touch me!" Joy yelled but then bursted out laughing. What was so funny? Moments later she closed her eyes and passed out. Just how much had they drunk? Wendy's brain stopped working for a few seconds until Seulgi nudged her. "What are we going to do?" Seulgi panicked. She obviously hadn't come across drunk people before. Wendy took a deep breath and threw one of Joy's arms around her shoulder. "Help me take her to her room," Seulgi nodded and helped Wendy move the little giant.

"Seulgi," Joy opened her eyes, "Baby," she moaned. Wendy almost choked. She looked over at Seulgi who was looking anywhere but her. "I'm here, Sooyoung," she replied in a shy whisper. Wendy wanted to scream. What was going on!

"Did she just call you..." Wendy started once they reached Joy's room but Seulgi was quick to cut her off, "I'll handle Joy from now on, you can go help Irene." Seulgi's voice sounded strict, so much unlike her. Wendy didn't continue her sentence. She could only nod and leave.

She pushed the weird thoughts aside and quickly rushed back into Irene's room only to see the girl standing behind the door. "Seungwan you're back!" the girl said in an annoyingly loud voice and threw herself on Wendy. Wendy's hand touched her girlfriend's half naked back. The older woman was only in her bra and a pair of shorts.

"Irene, you're drunk."

"What's this?" Irene completely ignored her and placed a soft hand on Wendy's cheek, "It's your cheek!" she laughed. Wendy wanted to laugh too because _what the hell was Irene saying_, but that wasn't the right time.

Irene's legs seemed to give up, letting her whole body fall on Wendy. The latter struggled to keep her up. "I think you need a shower," Wendy told her, once the smell of alcohol finally hit her nose. She dragged the older woman in the bathroom and carefully undressed her.

"I think I'm going to puke," Irene mumbled, once Wendy had placed her in the bathtub. Wendy hummed, letting her know it was okay. She filled the bathtub with hot water and watched as Irene slowly closed her eyes.

"Why did you do this, Joohyun?" Wendy whispered mostly to herself, "Why did you drink?" Irene wasn't listening, or at least she didn't look like she was. After a few minutes Wendy helped the girl out of the bathtub and wrapped her in a towel. Irene didn't open her eyes once, she only followed Wendy's instructions slowly. Wendy let the girl lie on the bed, while she searched for her pyjamas. Irene fell asleep seconds later after Wendy helped her put the clothes on.

Wendy sighed, turning the lights off and sitting next to the sleeping woman. Her mind went back to the moment she saw her girlfriend kiss someone else. It hurt, even though she knew that Irene was drunk. She wouldn't have done it if she wasn't drunk, right?

Wendy didn't sleep that night. She watched Irene sleep peacefully next to her until the morning.

-


	6. Six.

Irene woke up but she wished she hadn't. She squinted, dry mouth sticky with thick saliva and moaned before retreating under the duvet. Her brain felt like it would swell beyond the capacity of her skull and now her dehydration was too obvious to ignore. From the pounding head, vomit taste in her mouth and dehydrated feeling she figured she must have been drinking heavily last night. Her throat felt like sandpaper. It hurt to move. Her stomach lurched and gurgled.

Perhaps some painkillers would help. She raised her heavy eyelids half way only for them to fall shut. She raised them again and swung her bare feet to the carpet. Next to her, on the bedside table she noticed a glass of water and a few pills Irene identified as painkillers. She wondered who put them there. Without a second thought she swallowed them along with the cold water in the glass. The thirst stayed after each slow sip of water and her head felt fit to crack open.

Once on her feet the room swayed almost causing her to loose balance and she reached out for the wall. Her hand slipped along the high sheen paint and she sprawled onto the carpet with a crashing thump. The room swirled before becoming stationary again and she used the bedstead to pull herself to standing. All these meant she'd had some fun the night before but somehow it wasn't there in her memory.

The aching in her skull ebbed and flowed like a cold tide, yet the pain was always there. That moment, Wendy came running into the room, "What was that sound?"

"I fell," Irene could only whisper because of her burning throat.

"What?" Wendy ran in front of her, "Are you okay?" she cupped her cheeks. Irene responded with a nod. "Did you drink the pills?" Irene nodded again. "Good."

"What happened last night?" Irene croaked. Wendy looked surprised, "You don't remember?" Irene shook her head.

The younger one frowned, "Come with me," she said and took the girl to the living room were Seulgi and Joy sat, making the older one sit too. Joy looked exhausted, her hair a mess and her eyes red. Irene wondered why.

Seulgi stood next to Wendy, "Irene doesn't remember either," Wendy told her. Seulgi nodded, her mouth in a thin line.

"So," Wendy started gaining the attention of the two girls on the couch, "Last night you two got drunk," she explained quickly, as if she didn't want to talk about it. Irene could tell she was drunk last night because of the morning symptoms, but she felt like she was forgetting something.

"Is that it?" Joy asked, probably feeling the same way as Irene. Seulgi shook her head, "No, you two almost..." she paused.

"You almost did her last night," Wendy finished for her, looking at Irene. Wendy's eyes looked different.

"Did what?"

"_Her_," she pointed at Joy. Irene was quick to understand what she meant by that but couldn't help but ask, "What?"

"Wendy, you make it sound like it was all Irene's fault," Seulgi said, "We came last night after our schedule only to see you in Irene's room doing it," she added, pain in her eyes. Indeed, it had been a painful sight.

"No way," Joy couldn't believe it, "Is this a joke or something? Because it isn't funny."

"Do we look like we're joking?" Wendy said. The 94' liners looked way too scary at that moment. "No..." Joy suddenly found the carpet very interesting to look at.

Irene gasped. She remembered. She remembered drinking the first can of beer and then the second and the third... She remembered kissing Joy. "Oh my god," Irene touched her lips, "I remember," she whispered embarrassed, "Ew..."

"Ew? Excuse me?" Joy was offended.

"Joy, we kissed!"

Irene was at a loss of words. It all came back to her mind; Joy kissing her, lifting her and taking her to the bedroom. She felt like crying._ Did she just cheat on Wendy?_

"Seungwan," she started, taking the girl's hands in hers, "I would never, ever, do something like that if I wasn't drunk. I'm so sorry," Irene wanted to hug her but she looked very angry. After a few seconds Wendy nodded, "I know you wouldn't," she said in a small voice. Irene was so revealed to hear that, that she missed the pain in Wendy's voice. "But why did you do it? Why did you drink so much last night?"

"It was my fault," Joy confessed, "I made her do it. I really felt like drinking last night and I got a little carried away," she sighed.

"It was my fault too. I should have stopped her. I'm not a good leader," Irene let go of Wendy's hands buried her head in hers.

Wendy rubbed her temples, "Can we just pretend it never happened, for now at least? I know you two did nothing but kiss but I really don't know how to deal with this right now. It is too much for me."

Irene and Joy nodded. They had messed up. Joy didn't seem to remember exactly what had happened last night, but Irene wasn't going to forget any time soon. "We won't mention it until you're ready," Irene said to the two girls in front of her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Yeri interrupted them. The maknae returned to the dorm after spending the whole night with her friend, Saeron. The girls fell silent, looking at each other and waiting for someone to respond. Irene was the first one to pluck up courage. "We were about to watch a movie," the leader lied. Yeri didn't have to be part of this mess. The other girls didn't say anything, it was a silent agreement to keep this a sercet.

"Without me?" Yeri kicked her shoes off and hoped on the couch next to Irene, "What are we going to watch?"

"Um, we couldn't decide. Let's just open the TV and see if there's something good to watch." Everyone agreed and settled down on the two couches of the living room.

"It's Joy's kissing scene!" Yeri screeched, once she turned the TV on. After a failed attempt to snatch the remote out of Yeri's hands, Joy rolled her eyes, "Change it," she said- _ordered_.

"No." Yeri smirked and turned the volume up. The TV showed Joy (known as Tae-hee in the show) and Do-hwan, a famous actor, sharing a kiss which, as Yeri said, was very awkward and funny.

Wendy covered her eyes with a hand, Yeri pointed at the screen and laughed, Irene -the only normal person in the dorm - watched the scene peacefully. Irene could still remember Joy's nervous face before leaving the dorm the day of the kissing scene.

Seulgi on the other hand, stood up without a word and walked into her room. Irene sensed Joy's concern even though she couldn't see her face. Joy stared at Seulgi's closed door for a few seconds before standing up and following the young dancer in the room. The door closed with a loud bang.

Irene and Wendy shared a knowing look but the latter looked away two seconds later, so unlike her. Yeri laughed at Joy's face on the screen.

(...)

"I'm so sorry,"

"Seungwan, please, I love you,"

"I love you too, I really don't want to do this but I don't have any other choice,"

"Please no!"

"Uno." Wendy said, placing a +4 card on the table.

"Uno," Joy said too placing another +4 card on the table.

"I hate you." Irene mumbled and picked up eight cards. The three girls were obviously playing uno in the living room, while Seulgi and Yeri were playing Pubg in Seulgi's room. It was difficult for them to forget last night's events, so they wanted to do something, _anything_ that could help their minds focus on something else. Sadly, Irene was barely thinking about anything else and she was sure Wendy had trouble forgetting it too. It had been only a day since the incident, and the more hours that passed the more awkward the atmosphere in the dorm became.

"Irene you lost."

Unbelievable. Irene never lost. She pouted like she always did when she lost but Wendy didn't laugh at her defeated face like she usually did. Her eyes didn't have the spark they usually had. Wendy was in pain, Irene could tell. Joy moved from the floor to the couch and placed her long legs on the coffee table, "That was exhausting. I need some time to rest," Joy was a good actress on screen but an even better actress off screen, Irene thought. She acted like nothing had happened.

"I'm going to take a shower," Irene announced and walked into her room, anything to get some time alone and think. She had cheated on Wendy unwittingly and she really had to make up to her. How though? Irene was embarrassed. Wendy deserved much better. Was it really cheating, though? All they had done was share a few kisses and touches while being very drunk. Irene shook her head. She cheated. Drunk or not, she cheated.

Wendy followed her in the room and sat on their bed. Irene thought the younger one was ready to talk but she didn't. They didn't look at each other. There was nothing to say. Irene disappeared in the bathroom, leaving Wendy alone. The latter turned her attention to her phone.

While the vocalist was playing a cooking game on her phone, Irene's phone rang. "Can you get that for me?" Irene said from the bathroom. Wendy did so, taking the phone from the bedside table. "Hello? No, it's Wendy. She's in the shower. Okay, I'll let her know," Wendy answered. It was their manager, he wanted to remind Irene about a meeting. The manager quickly hang up, he was a busy man. Wendy watched as the call ended and the lock screen of Irene's phone appeared. Multiple notifications were there - Irene rarely opened them. A certain notification gained her attention, it was from their sunbae, Tifanny. Wendy unlocked the phone and laughed at Tifanny's text.

_"You are crazy!"_ the text message read. Wendy wondered what had made her say that. Scrolling down, she noticed a video of Irene and Joy in the back. Curiously, she pressed the play button.

_"Don't worry, unnie! If we get caught we'll pretend we're drunk!"_ Irene and Joy laughed in the video.

Wendy's face fell faster than a corpse in cement boots. Her heart suddenly ached. The sadness flowed through her veins and deadened her mind.

_They...lied? They weren't drunk?_ Wendy didn't know what to do with this information. She suddenly found breathing hard and her vision turned blurry. Anger, sadness and disappointment hit her all at once. She took Irene's phone and ran into Seulgi's room.

Yeri and Seulgi were there, playing computer games. "Yeri, I need to talk to Seulgi." Wendy said in a firm voice, giving no room for objections. Yeri knew when not to mess with Wendy. She took her phone and left Seulgi's room.

"Wendy, are you okay?" Seulgi asked carefully. Wendy rarely was in a bad mood, making it easy for the members to tell when something was wrong. Wendy didn't speak, she only showed the video to Seulgi.

"No way..." Seulgi placed a hand in front of her mouth. They were speechless. Words left them. They stared into the bright screen, and their hearts fell silent. They couldn’t will their lips to move. As if stuck underwater, everything was slow and warbled.

"Wendy? Who was on the phone?" Irene appeared behind the door in fresh clothes and wet hair. Wendy turned, but too slowly to be normal. "Um, what happened?" the leader asked once she noticed the two girls' faces. Wendy gathered up enough courage to talk, "What's this?" she shoved the phone in front of Irene's eyes. Irene squinted, vision blurry because of the sudden light in her eyes. When her vision became clear, she saw the video of her and Joy from the previous night. Irene laughed remembering the silly things they had said to Tifanny, "Oh, we sent that to Tifanny-"

"Why are you laughing? Is this a joke to you? Lying in front of our faces?" Wendy was pissed. When she spoke her voice trailed slowly, like her words were unwilling to take flight. There was a sadness in her eyes, the brown too glossy. Irene's smile left her face in seconds, "Wait, Wendy, this is not what-"

"I don't want to hear your lies, Irene! I tried to ignore yesterday's events. Do you know how difficult it was for me to see you kiss someone else?" Wendy raised her voice for the first time in so many years. Irene's legs went weak, her stomach lurched and her heart ached. She knew the truth but she couldn't find herself to speak, words stuck on her throat. Wendy looked extremely intimidating that moment.

"How could you Irene?" Wendy asked in a softer tone this time. Irene could see tears forming in her eyes and she wanted to slap herself for making Wendy feel that way. Wendy sighed and looked away, "It's late. Go to sleep," she handled her the phone.

"Will you come?" Irene dared to ask.

"No."

Irene ran to her room before Wendy could see her tears. She closed the door behind her and fell on the bed, burying her face in a pillow. She wanted to scream. Why hadn't she talked? Why did she give up so easily? Why did she leave the room?

Irene didn't cry. She rarely did. But her eyes were filled with tears that were threatening to fall. As much as she tried to hold it in, the pain came out like an uproar from her throat in the form of a silent scream. "Stupid, stupid," she called herself repeatedly. She hated herself for losing her words.

Eleven o'clock morphed into twelve and then one. The time trickled by, marked only by those changing glowing numerals. Wendy never came. Her mind was blank; where there should be dreams was a heavy blackness. Her eyes were as stationary as the silhouette of her bedside lamp, which was where they rested. She sighed wearily. Unable to sleep, she sat upright on the bed, her legs outstretched and covered with her warm duvet. She couldn't take it no more. She had to talk to Wendy.

Taking her phone in hand, she hastily walked towards Wendy's room, where she wished Wendy was. She took a deep breath and tried to push the door open, but sadly it was locked. Wendy knew she would come. Irene placed her forehead on the door and closed her eyes, "I really need to talk to you," she whispered, careful not to wake the other members up. Footsteps could be heard from the living room and Irene turned her head to see who was there this late at night. Because of the darkness Irene was unable to tell who the person was, so she stepped closer. The person walked to the bathroom and only when the bathroom light was on Irene saw it was Joy. She quickly rushed inside the bathroom before she could close the door.

"Sooyoung!" she said in a loud whisper. The young girl jumped, "Unnie! You scared me!"

"Shhh, be quiet," Irene put a finger in front of her lips.

"Why are you here?" Joy asked in a lower tone.

"Wendy and Seulgi saw the video we sent to Tiffany,"

"What video?"

"The one where we said that if we got caught we would pretend we were drunk. And the girls thought we were talking about _that_."

Joy didn't look like she remembered the video Irene was talking about immediately but then she was shocked. "Did you show her the whole conversation with Tifanny?"

"No..." Irene replied.

"What? Why?"

"Wendy wouldn't listen to me and she was very angry. I have never seen her this angry before."

"What about Seulgi? What did she say?"

"She didn't talk."

Joy bit her bottom lip, deep in thought, "Open your phone," Irene did so and waited for her to continue. "Now, screenshot the conversation before the video and send it to Seulgi and Wendy."

"What about the voice message?"

"Record it and send it to them," Joy rolled her eyes at Irene's granny brain. Irene struggled to follow Joy's words, making Joy impatient, "Let me do it," she snatched the phone out of Irene's hands with so much force that it accidentally slipped from her hands. With a loud splash, the phone fell into the toilet.

"Sooyoung!" Irene rushed to get the phone out of the toilet but it was already dead. Joy slapped her forehead, "Fuck," she muttered under her breath.

"Language," Irene glared at her. Joy ignored her and ran out of the bathroom only to come back seconds later with her own phone in hand, "Unnie, is in London right now. I'll tell het to record the voice message and send it to me. Hopefully, she's not too busy these days and she'll see the message."

-


	7. Seven.

The next day the girls left the dorm early in the morning. They met their manager downstairs and followed him to the car outside. Yeri was full of energy, making jokes here and there, unlike her unnies who looked like they were zombies. None of the unnies had a good night's sleep. Tifanny hadn't responded to Joy's message yet, leaving her and Irene without any evidence.

The car left, taking the five girls to one of Seoul's biggest staduims where they would hold another concert for their dear fans. The concert was next month, but the girls visited the stadium almost every day to practice the numerous songs they were going to perform.

The car ride was silent, except for Yeri's occasional jokes, that barely made anyone laugh. Once they reached the stadium, the girls followed their manager inside where all the staff was waiting for them. The girls greeted them one by one and got ready to start the rehearsal. With in-ears, costumes and heels, they started their performance. Sadly, the lack of sleep was starting to show, making the girls want a break more and more often.

"Give us a moment," Irene said through the mic that was taped on her cheek. The staff heard the leader and went for a quick break. Irene sat on the ground, trying to catch her breath. She looked around her; the stadium was huge, thousands of seats waiting to be occupied by fans. Irene usually admired the stadium but today she wasn't in the mood. Seulgi and Joy fighting next to her and Wendy pacing up and down didn't help either.

Wendy was all quiet, not like her at all, miss chatter herself. Irene was used to the long tales, the rambling, the quick wit. She bit her inner lip for just a half second before going next to her, flicking her hair in the fading light of the headlights. Wendy walked away before she got the chance to speak.

The leader closed her eyes, trying to tune out the silent argument that was happening next to her. Her patience was cut short when Joy started swearing.

She quickly stood up, "Enough!" she yelled, forgetting that she was still wearing her mic. Her voice echoed throughout the whole stadium grabbing everyone's attention. Seulgi glared at Irene in a way she had never done before. Joy was having none of this, "This is none of your business," she told the leader. Irene scoffed, "It _is_ my business. I'm the leader of this group," she ripped the mic off of her face. The staff shouldn't hear all this.

"Yeah? Well, you don't look like it."

"Hey, Joy that's not nice-" Seulgi started but Joy ignored her. "Irene, we fucked up and you know it."

"It was an accident!"

"I don't want this concert to happen!" Joy yelled. The stadium fell silent. "Not when we're like this," Joy continued in a softer voice. Wendy and Seulgi didn't speak, but Irene could tell they agreed with Joy.

"Let's call it a day," Irene suggested but it sounded more like an order.

"Irene, we started less than an hour ago-"

"I said let's call it a day." Irene's voice was strict, no one objected. Irene announced her decision to the staff as well. No one could say no to angry Irene. The girls followed the leader silently, none of them spoke a word. They changed back to their casual clothes and left the stadium. The manager didn't join them in the car so Irene took the chance to sit on the passenger seat, as far away as she could from the girls. She didn't dare to look at them through the rear mirror. Her whole body was turned towards the window and hid her face. She bit her tongue, trying to hold the tears that threatened to leave her eyes. One small crystal bead escaped from her right eye. She could feel the warmth, sliding down her cheek, and rolling off her chin. She quickly wiped it. She was angry and sad at the same time. Angry mostly because of herself, for being so careless, for being a bad leader and leading all of them into this mess. Sad because she missed Wendy already, she wanted to talk to her and tell her that she loved her. But Wendy wouldn't listen. Irene wasn't mad at her, the vocalist had every right to be angry at her, but she wished Wendy at least listened to what she had to say...

Irene was mad at Joy, for fighting with Seulgi, using nasty language and offering her that cursed alcoholic drink. But then again, Irene was a grown woman, she should have denied Joy's offer and prevent the younger one from drinking too. Irene had messed up and she didn't know how to fix this. Tifanny had yet to answer Joy's message. Without the evidence Irene was helpless.

These weeks had been so difficult for all of them, with the promotions, the practices, the photoshoots, the meetings. And this occurrence was like adding fuel to the fire.

When the girls arrived back to the dorm, Seulgi quickly disappeared in her room without uttering a word. Irene looked over at Wendy who was walking towards her own room. She quickly grabbed her arm before the girl could lock herself in the bedroom again. "Seungwan, can we please talk?" she asked with pleading eyes. It wasn't a want anymore. It was a need. She _needed_ to talk to her.

Wendy shook her head, "Joohyun, this is not the right time,"

"When's the right time then?"

"I'm very tired, I'm going to sleep," Wendy freed her arm from Irene's grip.

"Come sleep with me," Irene begged but the answer was once again no. Wendy walked into her room and closed the door.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" a clueless Yeri asked the two girls left in the living room. Joy and Irene looked at each other. "I'll talk to her," Joy said and took Yeri to her room. Irene sighed in relief. She couldn't handle Yeri at the moment. It was still noon but Irene felt more tired than ever. She fell onto the couch, and let her eyes rest. Seconds later she was fast asleep.

(...)

"Unnie! Wake up!"

A nudge to her ribs made Irene jerk awake to see Joy's smiling face. How long had she been out? She really hoped it hadn't been long. "I have good news," Joy poked her side. Irene groaned and sat up. A blanket was covering her body. She didn't have a blanket when she fell asleep, she wondered who brought her that.

"Tiffany sent the screenshots," Joy said, making Irene snap out of her thoughts. It took her a few seconds to realise what Joy had just said, she was still half asleep.

"What?!" she half yelled.

"Yes!" Joy grinned. Wendy. Irene had to show this to Wendy. Now. But she didn't want to be selfish. "We should show this to the girls. Where's Seulgi?" Irene asked, knowing that Joy would want Seulgi to know first.

"Don't worry about her, we had a talk. You should talk to Wendy." Joy smiled at her. Apparently the talk with Seulgi went good or else she wouldn't be smiling like that. Irene knew there was something going on between these two and she couldn't wait to tell Wendy. She had to update her on the 'joygi' case.

Irene wasted no time to grab Joy's phone and run to Wendy's room. Before she could enter, Yeri came out of the room.

"Unnie, this is not a good time," Yeri stopped the leader. Irene's heart pounded inside her chest when she heard that. _What happened? Was Wendy okay?_

"I have the screenshots. I really need to show her," she explained. Yeri seemed hesitant, "I think I should talk to her first. Give me the phone," the maknae said and went back to the room, closing the door before Irene could peek in.

Irene's heart beat louder with each passing second. She couldn't hear the girls talking inside the bedroom, which made her even more nervous than she already was. She could only hope that Wendy was going to listen to everything Yeri had to say and see the 'evidence'. With arms folded tightly across her chest, she tapped her foot furiously and all the while stared at the closed door. Another quick glance at the clock in the living room only seemed to confirm that time was slowing down, her stomach knotted up.

After what seemed like years, Yeri came out of the room. Irene held her breath, waiting for Yeri to talk.

"You can go," Yeri said and Irene almost jumped into the room. "Just so you know," Yeri continued before she entered the room, "She loves you more than anything."

Irene's lips broke into a smile, her heart flattered. She really needed to hear that. "Thank you, Yeri," the leader hugged the maknae. "Stop hugging me and go talk to your girlfriend," Yeri giggled next to her ears. The maknae was right, Irene had no time to waste. She wanted to see Wendy. She broke the hug and slowly entered the room, after the maknae had given her an encouraging thumbs up.

Once in the room, she saw the love of her life sitting on the bed, head buried in her hands. Irene closed the door behind her a little bit louder than she should've, startling the girl on the bed. The latter raised her head, revealing her bloodshot eyes. Once she realised who had walked into the room, Wendy stood up and as if they were in a romance movie, she ran into her lovers arms. Before Irene could say anything, Wendy broke into tears, hugging the other tighter than ever. "I knew you weren't lying!" she sobbed into her arms, "I wasn't even mad at you!"

"Wendy," Irene tried to calm the younger girl down by caressing her back.

"You didn't have to show me the screenshots, I always believed you!" Wendy continued her cries.

"Wen-"

"I just felt so bad after our last comeback and these weeks have been so difficult-"

"Seungwan."

"Yes?"

"I love you."

That was all Wendy needed to hear. "I love you too. More than anything." Irene held her in silence, rocking her slowly as her tears soaked her chest.

Wendy was crying in her arms, but Irene was happy. They were back to normal after that stupid mistake of hers.

-


	8. Eight.

**A/N:** _Trigger Wanring_.

(...)

"You're jealous!"

"I said I'm not!"

Irene had left the dorm early in the morning. She had a scheduled photoshoot with one of EXO's members, Sehun. Irene was very excited for the photoshoot and that bothered Wendy just a tiny bit, but she wouldn't admit it. Joy and Yeri wouldn't stop teasing her about it.

"Sehun is very handsome. He and Irene unnie look good together," Joy continued teasing her. Wendy rolled her eyes. Indeed, he was very handsome and all the comments on Twitter and Naver said that they looked good together too. That made Wendy even more bothered.

"Wait a minute, what's that on your neck, unnie?" Yeri pointed at a purple mark that was supposed to be hidden under her turtle neck. Wendy's eyes widened. "It's, um, a mosquito bite," she explained quickly, _too quickly_ to be true. Joy laughed, "You're such a bad liar!" Even Seulgi, the most innocent member in the dorm, could tell that it wasn't a mosquito bite. "Looks like Irene unnie was naughty last night," Yeri sent her a wink. Blushing would have been no problem, but what Wendy did was go as red as a beetroot and radiate heat like a hot pan. No one could have missed it. She wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole at moments like these. Irene didn't usually leave marks on her body, but when she did, it was on the most obvious spots. Wendy had a hard time hiding them.

"Enough about Wendy. What about you and Saeron, huh?" Joy turned her attention to the maknae. Wendy wanted to thank the tall girl.

Yeri shrugged unfazed, "What about us?"

"Are you two together or...?"

"Nope," Yeri simply said. Joy eyed her suspiciously but didn't interfere. It was hard to believe Yeri because she spent all her free time with Saeron and when she was at the dorm, she would very often talk about her.

Wendy checked her phone for any missed calls or messages from Irene. The leader always updated her when she had a solo schedule. But this time she didn't, the only notification on Wendy's phone was a missed call from her mother. She wondered why her mum had called this early im the morning. Checking the date on her phone, she realised it was her dad's birthday.

"Oh, it's my dad's birthday today! I should give him a call," Wendy smiled, feeling silly for almost forgetting her dad's birthday.

"Put him on speaker, and we will all sing happy birthday!" Seulgi suggested. Wendy agreed, "Siri call dad."

The small device analysed Wendy's voice and seconds later announced, _"Calling daddy."_

"You still call your dad daddy?" Yeri laughed.

Wendy frowned. While the girls waited for Wendy's dad to answer, Wendy started to panic because-

"Wendy, I'm busy, what do you want?" Irene's voice was heard. Wendy had forgotten to change Irene's name back to 'Joohyun'. Irene thought it was funny to change it to 'Daddy' every now and then.

The girls bursted out laughing. "Irene is your daddy?" Joy said through laughs. Yeri fell on the floor, tears in her eyes, "This is hilarious!"

Wendy wanted to hide forever. There was no rescue from this embarrassment. It was absolute. Torture. Utter humiliation. "Irene, I'm going to call you later," Wendy mumbled into the phone and quickly ended the call.

"You should have seen your face!" Yeri snickered. Wendy buried her head into her hands. Embarrassed was an understatement.

"Don't worry, unnie. It's okay to have a kink," Joy patted her back and the girls started laughing again. Wendy muttered under her breath, "Stop. I'm going to call my dad now," the girls' laughs slowly came to an end. Wendy called her real daddy this time.

"Seungwan?" Wendy heard her mother's voice.

"Hey, mum, can you pass the phone to dad?"

"Where are you?" Her mother ignored her question. Wendy frowned, "I'm in the dorm with the girls. We called to sing happy birthday to dad," she explained. There was a long pause after that. "Can you please go somewhere private? I need to talk to you." Wendy looked at the girls in confusion but did as she was told.

"We're going to visit Haetnim. Tell happy birthday to your dad for us, okay?" Joy told her before she could enter her room. Wendy gave her a nod and waved Joy and Seulgi goodbye. Then she went in her room, not wanting to keep her mum waiting.

"Okay, mum, I'm alone now."

"It's about your dad."

(...)

When Irene returned to the dorm, all lights were off. She wondered if the girls had gone out for dinner. The photoshoot with Sehun turned out to be very boring and she really wanted to have some fun with the girls now. But where were they? She walked into Joy's room. No one was there. Seulgi's room was empty too. Irene noticed a speck of light coming from Yeri's room. The maknae was there, wearing headphones, probably playing Pubg again. Irene decided not to bother her. She then walked to her own room, where she expected Wendy to be but the girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe she fell asleep in her room?" Irene said to herself as she walked into Wendy's room. The girl was indeed there but she wasn't asleep. She was sitting on the chair in front of her small desk, back facing Irene, lights off.

"Wan?" Irene called her multiple times but the girl seemed lost in thought. She walked until she was standing in front of her and only then did the younger one notice her presence. Once their eyes locked Wendy broke into tears.

Irene panicked, "Seungwan? What happened?" she quickly took the girl into a hug, letting loose seconds later to face the girl. "Are you okay?"

"My father passed away," the words hardly managed to break out as the sob's she was holding in chocked her voice back. Irene stared into those brown eyes full of pain, and her heart fell silent. Words left her. She pulled the younger one into a tight hug again. Wendy cried as if her brain was being shredded from the inside. Emotional pain flowed out of her every pore. From her mouth came a cry so raw that Irene wanted to cry too. She grabbed onto Irene so that her violent shaking would not cause her to fall and from her eyes came a thicker flow of tears.

"I'm so sorry," Irene mumbled. She carried the girl and placed her on the bed. She lay next to her and wrapped arms around her, keeping her as close as possible. She let her cry until her eyes were dry. Wendy cried as if the ferocity of it would bring her dad back; as if by the sheer force of her grief the news would be undone. Irene paused trying to hold back the strange feelings rumbling inside her but she couldn’t. A lone tear traced down her own cheek. Her chin trembled as if she was a small child.

It took Wendy hours to calm down. She shed countless tears, her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. Irene kissed her forehead and told her to go to sleep. The girl had no power or will to do anything else at that moment, so she obeyed.

Irene wiped the few tears that fell from her own eyes and stood up, careful not to wake the young girl up. She went into the kitchen and filled a glass with fresh water for Wendy. The girl would be very dehydrated when she woke up. As Irene walked back to the room she heard weird noises coming from outside. Out of curiosity she decided to check who or what made that noise outside their dorm.

Her heart fell for the second time that day when she opened the door.

"Joy? Seulgi? What happened?" she asked the two girls that were standing outside, crying into each other's arms, soaking wet. That was when she noticed the same dog Joy brought in the dorm a while ago in Joy's hands. "Why did you bring this-"

"Please, unnie. Please let me keep her here. Please," Joy begged through tears. Irene couldn't say no to the two crying girls. She nodded and let the girls enter the dorm. Before she could ask what had happened, the two girls disappeared in Joy's room. Irene was confused. What had just happened? She went back to Wendy's room to leave the glass of water for the sleeping girl on the bedside table and then walked to Joy's room. She couldn't let the girls cry in that room without her knowing the reason why.

She slowly opened the door. _Damn_, she should have knocked. In front of her stood Joy and Seulgi. Kissing. On the lips. Irene let out a little yelp, startling the two girls. The couple gasped when they noticed the leader on the door.

"I'm sorry," Irene said in a small voice and closed the door before the girls could speak.

-


	9. Nine.

**A/N:** _Trigger Wanring._

(...)

[Flashback]

The couple reached Joy's parents' house in less than fifteen minutes. Joy was glad her parents lived so close to their dorm. That way Joy was able to visit them any time of the day she wanted and take many pictures of her favourite dog in the world, Haetnim, for her Instagram page. Joy loved two things more than anything in the whole world and those were Seulgi and Haetnim. Thankfully, Seulgi loved dogs too, unlike their leader who screamed at the top of her lungs every time a dog approached her.

The girls' schedules had been packed for the past three weeks and Joy didn't have the chance to visit her parents during those days. Now that the promotions were finally over, she had plenty of time to see them and her baby, Haetnim. She also wanted to finally reveal the big secret she had been hiding with Seulgi to them.

Joy knocked the door three times and seconds later her mother appeared behind the door.

"Sooyoung!" the woman hugged her daughter tightly, "How are you, honey? It's been sometime," she broke the hug and that was when she noticed Seulgi standing shyly behind her daughter. "Seulgi! I didn't see you there sweetie. Welcome!" she gave Seulgi a small hug too.

"Hello, Mrs. Park," Seulgi bowed politely.

Mrs. Park welcomed the girls and told them to wait for her in the living room while she made them drinks. The couple was left alone in the living room. The room was dimly lit with the vintage wall sconces that hung on the mute coloured walls like earrings. Thick velvet curtains hid the long windows across the walls, just leaving a shy peak of the woods beyond. Two antique couches stood the opposite sides of each on the hand-woven rug in front of the ashen fireplace, accompanied by rich velvet and bronze wing-chairs that stood as sidekicks. The paintings and faded tapestry panels on the walls seemed to blink at Seulgi as she looked at them.

Seulgi had visited Joy's house many times before, especially since she got Haetnim. Her mother was a sweetheart, very polite and charming just like her daughter. Her father was more distant but still a gentleman. The dancer turned her head to look at the framed pictures on the wall. Joy's parents smiled from the old photographs, full of the promise of youth. Her mother stood in her wedding dress, modest by today's standards, simple and white. Her father was the proud man holding the arm of his pretty dame, the sunlight reflecting from his unwrinkled face.

A few minutes passed and the girls were becoming more and more nervous. The closer they got to revealing their secret, the more anxious they became. Seulgi's stomach shifted uneasily and she noticed that the hands she was hugging herself with were pinching into her skin. She released her hands but then she couldn't figure out what to do with them, so instead they clasped and unclasped each other as if in constant need of touch and reassurance.

As if she reading her thoughts, Joy took Seulgi's shaking hand in hers, "Everything's going to be okay," she gave her a reassuring smile. Seulgi gave her a small nod and took a deep breath, "Where's Haetnim?" she asked, trying to avert the bad thoughts that started flooding her mind.

"She's in the room next to the kitchen," Joy pointed with with her eyes, "My parents don't want her running around the whole house. She's pretty naughty," they giggled.

"Sooyoung!" both girls turned their heads to see Joy's father behind them. Joy smiled and stood up for a hug.

"How are you? Have you been eating? You look thinner."

"I'm good, dad. I've been eating well."

Seulgi also stood up and greeted Mr. Park with a bow.

"Hello to you too, Seulgi," he offered a hand and Seulgi shook it gently. They all settled down on the two couches, right when Mrs. Park came back with three cups of tea. The girls thanked her and waited for her to settle down too.

It was time. Joy could hear Seulgi gulp. Both her parents were sitting across them, eyeing them like hawks, making them ten times more nervous.

"So, what brings you here, ladies?" her father started. Seulgi looked at Joy with eyes that cried for help, as if she was saying _'please talk'_ or more like _'please answer all their questions quickly because I'm going to lose it'._ Either way Joy took the message.

"It's been sometime since I visited you. I also wanted to see Haetnim, I missed her a lot."

Her mother nodded, "What about you, Seulgi? Last time we saw you was many months ago."

Seulgi opened her mouth but no sound came out. She gave Joy another panicked look.

_'Help!'_

Joy could read her like an open book.

"Um, Seulgi has been very busy this year. Lots of solo schedules," Joy explained, and it wasn't a lie. Seulgi had, indeed, been very busy this year, especially with photo shoots.

"Ah, I see," her mother hummed.

The room fell silent after that. Whenever Joy visited her parents, they always had something to talk about, they would talk for hours and hours about everything and anything. This time felt different, though. Something was off. Maybe it was because of Seulgi's presence or maybe because of their nervousness. Could her parents tell they were nervous? She hoped not. The young girl took the cup of tea her mother had left on the coffee table and drunk a long sip. As it turned out, she couldn't drink away the silence.

"Is everything okay?" Mrs. Park asked after a few awkward minutes of silence. Seulgi hadn't looked away from the floor in what seemed forever which made Joy very concerned. She hoped the girl wouldn't start crying like she usually did when she was under pressure.

Joy couldn't stand watching her girlfriend suffer like that, so she decided to make this quick. Her hand found Seulgi's, rubbing it softly with her thumb. The motion didn't go unnoticed by her parents.

"Yes, everything's great. Listen, there's a reason why I brought Seulgi with me today," Joy started bravely and Seulgi's breath hitched, "We wanted you to know that..." Joy's heart was about to jump out of her chest. She hadn't been this nervous since Red Velvet's debut stage many years ago. Why was she feeling like that, though? Her parents were the most accepting people she knew and they alwaus supported her. Joy shared all her secrets with her parents, she had nothing to hide from them. Well...almost nothing.

_This is it,_ she thought. There was no time to waste. Both her parents were sitting patiently across of them, waiting for their daughter to continue. It was now or never.

"We're dating," Joy finished. Seulgi held her breath.

Silence never felt so heavy before. Her parents' eyes switched from her to Seulgi and vice versa. As Joy scanned her mother's face for a reaction the silence hung in the air like the suspended moment before a falling glass shatters on the ground. She expected her to laugh, scream or even dissolve into tears, but she did none of those things. Instead she got up and took her cup of tea from the coffee table. When she set the cup down Joy knew she hadn't taken it in.

"Excuse me?" her mother broke the silence. Both girls turned their attention to her.

"You're messing with us, right?" her mother laughed, "Is this one of those prank videos kids upload on Youtube?"

Her husband glared at the two girls, "It better be," he added, sending chills down their spines.

Joy gulped, "I'm not kidding. I'm with Seulgi. She's my girlfriend. We've been together for two years."

"Two years..." her mother buried her head into her hands, "This can't be happening."

Mr. Park stood up and started pacing up and down the living room, "Unbelievable," he commented.

Joy could see from the corner of her eye's Seulgi's pair becoming glossy. She held her hand tighter.

"So, you're telling me you're dating a girl," Mrs. Park stood up too.

"Yes-"

"Disgusting!" her mother yelled. Joy and Seulgi held their breaths.

"Take that back," Joy growled and stood up, her hand never leaving Seulgi's. Her father looked at their locked hands with the most disgusted expression Joy had ever seen on him.

"I didn't raise a daughter like you!" her mother yelled, "How dare you!"

Joy frowned, forcing the tears to stop forming in her eyes, "You told me you would love me no matter what."

"That's not what I meant."

"You're my mother!"

"No. You're not my daughter if you keep acting like this," every time her mother opened her mouth Joy got angrier. Every word stung only fueling the fire that burned inside of her. Every violated phrase was like gasoline to it, her fists began to clench and her jaw rooted.

"Like what?"

"This!" her mother pointed at their hands. Seulgi immediately tried to pull away but Joy didn't let her.

"I love her and I'm going to marry her and there's nothing you can do about it!" Joy snapped.

"Oh, there _is_ something I can do about it," her mother slowly approached her and pointed a shaky finger in her face, "I am disowning you."

As much as Joy tried to hold it in, the pain came out like an uproar from her throat in the form of a silent scream. The beads of water started falling down one after another, without a sign of stopping. She refused to look away, even as her lips trembled and her shoulders heaved with emotion, unwilling to back down.  
Her dark lashes brimmed heavy with tears; her hands clenched into shaking fists.

"You supported me when I told you I wanted to become an idol-"

"Please don't talk. I've heard enough."

"Mum, I'm-"

"Shut up! Leave my house! And take that stupid dog with you or else I'm throwing it out the window!" her mother screamed.

Burning rage hissed through her body like deathly poison. She looked over to her dad at the side of the room who shook his head in disapproval. Joy had heard enough. She dragged Seulgi into Haetnim's room, "Come on, Haetnim. We're leaving," the little dog unaware of the situation jumped into Joy's arms.

Joy didn't spare a glance at her parents. She took Seulgi and Haetnim and left their house.

"Don't ever come back! Disgusting human being!"

These were the last words she heard from her mother. These were the words that made her break down.

"I'm sorry," Joy choked out. She couldn't see Seulgi's whole face; it was hidden behind Seulgi's small palms, but Joy knew the girl was crying harder than ever. She could hear her sobs even through the sound of the heavy rain hitting the concrete. Haetnim started barking in her arms.

"I'm so sorry," she held Seulgi closer as they ran in the rain.

"It's okay," Joy barely heard Seulgi say.

It wasn't.

They reached the dorm way too fast for them to recover from everything that had just happened. They didn't want the other members to see them like this, but they were soaking wet and Joy wouldn't let Seulgi catch a cold because of her stupid parents.

"I love you more than anything," Joy held her girlfriend's cheek with her free hand, "I don't care what my parents think. You are the love of my life and no one's going to change my mind. You hear me?" Joy choked out the last words. She was an emotional mess.

Seulgi didn't know if she was crying because of Joy's words or because of her parents but she was definetly crying.

"I love you too."

Seulgi fell into Joy's arms. She sobbed into her chest unceasingly, hands clutching at her jacket. Joy held her in silence, rocking her slowly as her tears soaked her chest. A tiny lapse let Seulgi pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears, before she collapsed again, her howls of misery worsening. The pain must have come in waves, minutes of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths.

"We have to change clothes or else we'll catch a cold," Joy whispered as she rubbed the older one's back with one hand and held a quiet Haetnim on the other.

Suddenly, the door opened, "Joy? Seulgi? What happened?

[End of flashback]

(...)

It had been a week and the couple still hadn't talked to Irene about _that_ night. Thankfully, Haetnim didn't bother Irene at all; Joy kept the poor thing locked in her room but it was for the best. On the other hand, Wendy was feeling better, but the pain was definitely still there. Sadly, SM didn't let her go back to Canada for her father's funeral. She ate less, she slept more, and skipped many practices. But tried to get though it and the members helped her a lot. That's what friends are for after all.

Irene had talked with Wendy about that night and that kiss she accidentally saw, but Wendy wouldn't believe her.

_"You're lying because you know you're going to lose."_

_"I saw them, I swear!"_

The leader knew she shouldn't have shared it with anyone but she couldn't keep her mouth shut when it came to Wendy. She had to keep her updated on the Joygi case. The younger one kept refusing to believe Irene, so the latter decided it was time for another 'family meeting'. If she couldn't make Wendy believe it, then she would make Joy and Seulgi tell her themselves.

They all gathered in the living room. Irene glared at the couple waiting for them to spill the tea. Yeri on the other side was very confused and had no idea why they were having an emergency meeting.

"Say it." Irene ordered impatiently.

"Okay! We're dating! Happy?" Joy said defeated.

"You what?!" Yeri almost choked on her juice. Irene threw her fists in the air and did her famous victory dance. "You owe me twenty dollars and a massage," she told Wendy.

"You made a bet?" Seulgi asked.

"Unbelievable," Joy scoffed.

"We should go on a double date," Irene suggested, "It would be fun!"

"I don't want to be the third wheel here. I'm leaving," Yeri announced.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to play pubg with Taeyeon unnie. Do not disturb me," she said and walked into her room. Taeyeon had really made Yeri addicted to that computer game.

At that moment a bark came from Joy's room. Irene jumped in her seat. The bark reminded her of _that_ night. She decided it was time to ask the girls what had happened back then. The girls seemed hesitant at first. Joy was the first one to speak. "We visited my parents last week. I wanted them to know about my relationship with Seulgi. It didn't go as planned..." Joy's eyes didn't have their usual sparkle when she talked, "They kicked us out of the house and my mum told me to take Haetnim with me or else she would do bad things to her," she said in a small voice. Seulgi lowered her head. Irene wished she hadn't asked.

"Good news is we also visited Seulgi's parents and they were very happy about us. They said they'd talk to my parents."

"Did they?" Wendy asked.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to my parents since that night," when Joy finished, her eyes were shiny, as if tears were threatening to fall. Seulgi noticed and quickly linked their hands. Wendy and Irene tried so hard not to screech_ 'AWWWW'_ at the cuteness in front of them.

"It's okay, Sooyoug. We'll always be here for you," Irene stood to hug the two girls. She gave them the best mother hug she could give. Joy really needed that.

-


	10. Ten.

Irene had a date today with none other than Wendy. She was very excited. They hadn't been on a proper date in a very long time.

She was in her room getting ready. Nothing too special, just a pair of jeans, a black shirt, and some make-up. They weren't going anywhere too fancy after all. Wendy wanted to take her to the movies.

While she was getting ready, the door opened, "Um, unnie, can I talk to you?" Joy silently entered the room. Irene looked at the small clock on her bedside table, to make sure she had enough time before the date.

"Sure, what is it?"

Joy looked hesitant, "Can we talk in my room?"

Irene looked around out of reflex. No one else was in the room, it was just the two of them. She gave Joy a confused look.

Joy seemed to notice Irene's confusion, "Just in case," she explained. Irene didn't question it any further and followed Joy in her room. They both sat on Joy's king sized bed - funny how Joy had always had a big bed, while Wendy and Irene just recently bought one - after Joy closed the door.

"Okay, so," Joy started. She looked pretty nervous and uncomfortable and Irene wondered why. A muscle twitched involuntarily at the corner of Joy's right eye, her mouth formed a rigid grimace. With hands clasped tightly in front of her stomach she constantly fiddled with her knuckles, weaving her fingers in and out of each other. She tapped her foot furiously and all the while stared out of the double-glazed window. Irene placed a hand on Joy's pair, stopping her from fidgeting. The younger one silently thanked her, unable to keep eye contact for more than two seconds.

"Is something wrong?" the leader encouraged Joy to talk.

"No, it's just," she sighed, "I'm sorry, this is going to be very awkward. Ugh, nevermind, I'm gonna get straight to the point,"

Irene frowned, "What-"

"Have you had sex with Wendy unnie?"

Irene never knew choking on plain air was a thing, but apparently it was. She bent over as sharply as if she'd been punched in the stomach, and fell into a coughing fit.

"Excuse me?" Irene stood up and fanned herself with a hand, "Joy what the hell!"

"I mean, it's more of a rhetorical question because we all know you have,"

"What-"

"We have eyes, you know. And ears."

Irene gasped, "Sooyoung!" she could feel the heat growing in her cheeks. By now they were beyond an attractive rosiness.

Joy was lying. Irene and Wendy would never, ever, _not in a million years_, do such inappropriate things while the other members were in the dorm. It was something they kept for themselves and themselves only.

"Is this what you wanted to ask me? Because if that's it, I'm-"

"No! Wait!" Joy pulled the older one back on the bed, "That's not why I brought you here," she said in a much smaller voice.

"What is it then?" Irene asked slightly annoyed and embarrassed.

Joy took a deep breath, "Listen," she started surprisingly serious this time. Irene listened carefully, forgetting about the previous conversation.

"You know that Seulgi and I are together, right?" Joy asked even though everyone in the dorm knew.

"I was the first one to find out about you two," Irene smirked at the memory of getting the two girls caught kissing. She would never forget their shocked faces.

"That's true," Joy smiled, "I wanted to ask you for some advice since you've been with Wendy unnie for so long."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the oldest one here and there's no way I'm asking Wendy unnie for relationship advice. She's the greasiest person on earth," they shared a giggle at that.

"You can ask me anything you want," Irene gave her a small smile.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Well," the younger one cleared her throat, "This is going to be very awkward but," she finally locked eyes with Irene, "I love Seulgi so much and I really want to take our relationship to the next level, if you know what I mean."

Irene nodded, trying her best to keep a straight face for Joy's sake. She was full aware of the meaning behind Joy's words.

After seeing the older one nod, Joy continued, "But I don't know how to do it. I don't know when's the right time to do it," Joy finished shyly and patiently waited for the leader's response.

Irene had known Joy for so many years but that was the first time she saw the young girl so insecure and vulnerable. She gave her a sweet smile and scooted closer to her.

She really felt like a mum sometimes and she was proud their fans called her that. The mother's love she had for her members was the ordinary kind. It was no more than any mother she knew and respect. It was the kind of love that would move heaven and earth for her members if she had the power. It was the kind of love that said, "I would give my life for my members any time, any place." That didn't make her unusual, she was only normal. It was the kind of love that would take on anyone, anyplace, anytime if they threatened the wellbeing of her 'children'.

"Now I see why you're so nervous."

"I'm not nervous," Joy had always been very stubborn. Just like Irene, she preferred to keep her feelings for herself.

"It's okay to be nervous, Sooyoung. I understand."

Joy didn't respond. Irene took that as a silent agreement. It was like a mother was about to explain the beauty of love to her young inexperienced daughter. After all, Joy didn't have her real mother's support.

"Are you sure you're ready to do that with Seulgi?" Irene asked, going back to the main subject.

"Yes. It's been two years. I think we're both ready."

"Alright then," she placed a soft hand on Joy's thigh, "You'll know when the time is right. Don't worry about it."

"But how am I supposed to... start it?"

Irene bit her bottom lip hard, trying not to smile at Joy's cuteness. Seeing Joy so shy and nervous made her warm inside, since Joy rarely revealed this adorable side of hers.

"When the time is right, you'll do everything automatically. You won't even have time to think about it, you'll just do it. Trust me."

The younger one was lost in thoughts and Irene found it adorable. She truly loved Seulgi.

"Just make sure to ask her if she's ready too before you start. Just in case," she trusted Joy when she said that she was ready but she wasn't so sure about Seulgi. Seulgi was way too innocent and still had the mind of a child.

"Will do," Joy smiled, "Thank you," she added shyly. Irene couldn't help but give her a warm bear hug, reassuring her that everything was going to be perfect.

"Take your time," Irene slowly broke the hug.

"Thank you, unnie. I thought this was going to be way more awkward," she laughed. Irene loved that sound.

"This conversation never happened, by the way. If you tell Wendy about this I'm going to kill you."

_Aaaaaand she's back_.

"Irene?"

The leader turned her head to the source of the sound and saw Wendy slowly entering the room.

"We should get going, the movie is starting soon."

"Oh, right," Irene stood up and followed her girlfriend not before sending a wink at Joy, earning a few quiet threats from the latter. Irene chuckled and searched for her coat in the living room.

"Searching for this?" Wendy appeared behind her with the coat in her hands.

"Oh, yes, thank you," she smiled as Wendy helped her put the coat on.

"Is Joy okay? She looked weird," Wendy fixed the collar of her girlfriend's coat.

"Yeah, we were just talking," Irene answered, feeling Joy's dangerous eyes on her back, even though she wasn't in the room. Wendy hummed in response.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

"Let's go."

(...)

Movies were Wendy's secret pleasure. She only had one rule. Either read the book or see the movie but not both. Irene preferred to soak in the novel first and then her fun was in dissecting and comparing the plot, analyzing the characterization and bemoaning casting errors. Wendy's entertainment wasn't in analysis, but purely the joy of being sucked into the story. That was why she had decided to take Irene on a date to the movies. Irene let her choose the movie they would watch and Wendy couldn't be more excited about that.

Perpetually early for the movie, Wendy stood for a few seconds as she always did, with Irene next to her. With soda to her right and a family sized popcorn on her left she entered the cinema room with her girlfriend clinging onto her.

Stretching away the rows of red velvet seats, gently arced, beckoned them to choose. Never once did Wendy take a step forward until she'd sampled her popcorn. The saltiness had to be just right. A smile stretched on her lips as the kernel dissolved.

The movie started and they sat, engrossed, barely noticing the popcorn that failed to make it to their slack mouths. When the screen fell to black Irene's body would become rigid and her hand flailed for Wendy. Silences never lasted long at the movies, merely tools to heighten the drama, ploys of stylistic effect – depriving the senses of light and sound for just long enough to peak their fear. The next moment was maximum intensity; loud, bright, fast, shocking. Irene was back in her seat, eyes open wide. Wendy's hand had moved like clock work the whole time with most of her salty treat making it to her already growling stomach. She grinned. This wasn't one of those artsy, enigmatic films she had brought her girlfriend to. This was action, thriller, horror and she couldn't be happier. Irene would kill her when the movie was over but Wendy didn't mind, because Irene's reactions were hilarious.

Once the movie was over, the couple went for a night walk before returning to the dorm. It took Irene a few minutes to calm down after that cursed movie.

Stars lit the sky like snow-flakes in the night, yet appeared still, like an old photograph. Irene smiled, feeling the wind blow her hair into a tousled mane. The fading of the sunlight had also meant the fading of the heat. Wintry air swirled around them taking every lick of warmth it could. Irene wrapped her arms tighter around herself, pulling her coat closed and tucking her chin downward into it. Wendy immediately wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer.

Irene felt a raindrop fall against her skin, followed by several others. Soon, it began sprinkling. Little droplets of water drenched her hair, skin, and clothes. The water droplets began growing larger and falling frequently. The light ‘pitter patter’ of rain turned into wet thuds as the icy water raced to meet the ground. The sprinkling turned into a torrential downpour. The couple ran in the rain hand in hand. It was exciting. Every date with Wendy was exciting.

Irene stared at Wendy while they were running. She looked so gorgeous, showered with city lights. Wendy was smirking. Irene wondered if Wendy knew how crazy that drived her, how it made her want to feel every inch of her skin. At that moment, at the busy intersection, cars rushing past with wipers in full swing, she couldn't. Irene pulled her hand to stop her and moved in front. Wendy smiled in the way she did when she was very happy and then they kissed. The passersby melt away, the traffic too, and the moment was theirs. Irene cupped Wendy's cheeks and pulled her closer. She kissed the droplets from her lips, and felt Wendy's lips smile against hers.

All of a sudden, a clap of thunder roared in their ears, jolting them back into the world of the living. They pulled way and laughed. "We should go on dates like this more often," Irene said and Wendy agreed. After that they returned to the dorm, soaking wet. Every time they went on a date, Irene fell more and more in love.

-


	11. Eleven.

**A/N:** _Trigger Wanring. Violence_.

(...)

_[150329]_  
_ **Fan: **Did you eat seaweed soup today?_  
_ **Irene:** No, but Wendy made carrot cake for me._  
_ Wendy: I was up all night making that!_

_[150328]_  
_ **Wendy:** When I'm sad, other people will hug me then ask, "Seungwan-ah, are you okay?" while hugging me, while Joohyun unnie will just put her hands on my back once, but it's like electricity flows through her hands and it really comforts me._

_[150329]_  
_ **Wendy:** I lived in Canada but it's my first time seeing an unnie like Irene unnie. She's a person with different charms everyday. Although I don't say anything, she's a person that I'm really thankful to._

_[140926]_  
_ **Irene: **Wendy. Clean Wendy. Wendy whom you need to give a lot of love to. I’ll give it all to her._

(...)

Irene and Wendy were so obvious when it came to radio shows, they wondered how fans had yet to find out about their relationship. Whenever the radio hosts asked Irene anything about Wendy, she couldn't stop talking. Same with Wendy, although Wendy was less obvious because she liked to talk a lot in general.

The girls were waiting behind a closed door. Said door, led to the radio room, where the radio host was waiting. This radio room was different from the others they had visited; it had huge glass windows, allowing fans to watch them while they talked. They would also perform a few songs for their dear fans.

The host started introducing the girls and they entered the room one by one. Once they were seated, the interview started. Even with the double-glazed windows the fans' screams could be heard clearly. After many questions and a few games, Irene started to get hot. The room's temperature was very high and the long sleeved shirt she was wearing didn't help at all. Her long hair were too much of a bother too.

"Wendy," she called her girlfriend who was sitting next to her. They were currently having a break, while their songs were playing on the radio. Her girlfriend who was waving at the fans, turned to look at her. "What is it?"

"Do you have a hair tie? It's really hot in here,"

"Yes, it's in my bag," Wendy said and looked for her bag but it was nowhere to be seen. "I must have left it outside. Give me a second," the girl stood and left the room, searching for her bag. She asked a few people but they hadn't seen it. "Maybe it's in the dressing room," she said to herself. A man stopped her before she could enter the dressing room, "Wendy, your manager wants to talk to you. He's in that room," the man pointed at a room at the end of the hallway. Wendy frowned. Why would the manager want to talk to her in the middle of a radio show? She shrugged and followed the man to the room.

The kind man opened the door for her, "After you," what a gentleman. Wendy entered the room and looked around. It was an old store room, with dim lights and no one was there. Where was the manager?

A loud bang made her snap out of her thoughts. She turned to look at the man behind her, his expression very different from a few seconds ago.

"Where is the manager?" Wendy was starting to get nervous. The man in front of her looked suddenly very suspicious. He laughed, "There's no manager here."

"Excuse me?"

"You're so naive," he laughed again. Wendy was creeped out, she had to get out of there _now_. "Um, I really have to go now, the interview is staring soon," she said kindly, not wanting to be rude and went for the doorknob.

The door was locked.

The man smirked, "This was way easier than I thought," he leaned on the door and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What are you talking about?" Wendy merely had time to say before he pushed her against the door. He grabbed her neck with unbelievable strength. Wendy gasped for air, "What are you doing?!" Her heart started beating faster, the man's face way too close to hers. "I'm calling the police," she threatened in hopes of scaring him away. She could only see black dots, his grip on her neck tightening with each passing second. _Oxygen_. She needed oxygen.

"If you do, I'll do bad things to your little girlfriend."

Color drained from Wendy's face. How did he know?

Who was he?

What did he want from her? Wendy didn't know how to respond to that.

_Was he bluffing?_

"You're going to jail," was all Wendy could think of to say. He laughed once again, "Honey, I have millions of minions. If I go to jail, they'll come after you and finish my job," his face became serious after that, "Meet me tomorrow at the janitor's room. SM building. Next to the practice room. I know you'll be there. You have practice at eight." Wendy's brain had shut down. He was right. They had practice at eight, indeed. She was scared. How did he know all this and most importantly, how did he know about her relationship with Irene?

The man let go of her and unlocked the door. Wendy could finally breathe. For a moment she thought she would die right then and there. "Be there or else you'll suffer the consequences. And if you tell anyone about this, your girlfriend is dead," he said, pushed her out of the room and locked himself back in. Wendy stood there speechless _because what the hell had just happened?_

She rushed back to the radio room, as far as possible from him and as close as possible to Irene. Wendy had to tell someone about this. Her manager, the staff members or even her group members. Anyone. Who allowed that man to come and threaten her like that? Wendy wouldn't visit him tomorrow, obviously. She wasn't stupid after all.

But what if he actually did something bad to Irene?

Wendy's head hurt. She didn't know what to do. Maybe she should deal with this by herself, and not involve Irene into this. That way the man wouldn't have a reason to touch Irene.

When she entered the room and sat back on her seat, Irene smiled at her. Wendy lost her breath but for a good reason this time. She would move mountains for that smile.

Irene was in a very good mood and that was when Wendy decided that the leader didn't have to know about this. Wendy would protect Irene even if that meant risking her own life.

"Where's the hair tie?" Irene asked bringing her back to reality. _Oh, the hair tie_. Wendy closed her eyes. She forgot the hair tie.

"Um, I couldn't find it," she quickly answered. Irene frowned and leaned closer to her. Wendy wanted to back away. "Are you okay?" Irene asked. Wendy's breath hitched. _Was she that obvious?_ "Yeah, why?"

"You're very pale," Irene touched her forehead. This time Wendy backed away, "I'm just a little cold." That was the stupidest thing Wendy could say, considering the temperature of the room. It made Irene even more concerned. "Cold? Do you have a fever? Let me check," Irene raised her hand once again to touch her forehead but Wendy avoided it.

"I'm fine." Wendy said a little too aggressively. She was already messing up. Thankfully, Irene let her be.

When the radio show was over, the girls returned back to the dorm and got ready for bed. They had practice early in the morning, and they needed as much sleep as possible. Wendy wanted to go to sleep and forget about today's events. Now that she recalled it, it was almost funny. She had followed a random man into a mysterious room and he had threatened to kill her girlfriend. _Maybe it was all just a dream?_ Wendy thought to herself. There was no other explanation.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Irene came from behind her, startling her. Wendy gave her a quick nod, "Yes, I just need sleep. I'm going to bed," she explained. She wasn't a good liar, she knew. Irene eyed her suspiciously, "Alright, I'll be there in five mins," she gave her girlfriend a quick kiss.

Wendy went in their shared bedroom, quickly changed into her pyjamas and lay in bed before Irene was back. She didn't feel like having a conversation with her tonight. She knew Irene would get more suspicious but it was for the best. Wendy was a bad liar, and she didn't want to accidentally spill the truth.

A few minutes later Irene came in the room and turned the lights off, probably thinking that Wendy was asleep. But Wendy was fully awake and she wasn't planning to sleep anytime soon. Her mind wouldn't let her.

Her back was facing Irene and she pretended to be asleep but that didn't stop Irene from hugging her from behind and placing a soft kiss on the back of her head. She then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, gently rubbing her arm. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against hers. Wendy sunk into the warmth of her body, appreciative of the simple gesture.

_Oh, the things Wendy would do for this woman._

(...)

Wendy woke up with her heart beating faster than usual. She was nervous. She wondered if it had all been just a dream. Or maybe a nightmare. When she entered the bathroom and looked at the mirror, the marks on her neck proved her wrong and confirmed that what had happened was very much real. The reddish marks were barely noticeable but they were definetly there. Wendy had to hide them. She put on her black turtleneck before Irene was up.

Later in the morning, when all the members had woken up, they got ready to leave for practice. Once in the SM building, the girls walked to the practice room. Wendy looked around. No one was there. As they entered the practice room she threw a glance at the janitor's room next to it. The door was closed. Wendy sighed in relief and followed the girls in the practice room.

They started practising but Wendy couldn't focus. When she messed up the choreography for the fourth time, Irene knew something was wrong, "Seungwan, you've been acting weird since yesterday, is something wrong?"

Wendy loved how Irene could always tell when she wasn't feeling well, but this time she really wanted to keep it to herself. "I'm fine," she told the leader, avoiding her eyes. Irene's eyes always saw the truth.

Irene wiped the sweat off of her forehead and didn't reply. Wendy felt bad for lying to her girlfriend but it was for her own good. The leader decided it was time for a break after that and the girls roamed around the practice room trying to catch their breath. Wendy went for her water bottle, and drank in silence.

Her eyes fell on the slightly open door and she almost choked.

The man was there staring back at her. Wendy wanted to scream for help. He pointed at his wrist watch, "Time's up," he mouthed.

As long as Wendy didn't leave the girls she would be safe, right? But what if one of the girls left the room alone and he found her? Her members shouldn't go through this. Wendy had to protect them. The man wouldn't go away until he got what he wanted.

_Wendy loved Irene and she would do everything to protect her from the harsh world._

"I'm going to the restroom," she announced and quickly left the practice room before the girls could get suspicious. The man _gently_ grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the janitor's room. When the door was closed his grip became nothing but gently. He pinned her on the wall and just like last time, he grabbed her neck. Wendy regretted going there. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_.

"You didn't obey. You're naughty aren't you?" he laughed and leaned closer to her. Wendy held her breath. She had told herself last night that she wouldn't obey to his orders, but she did and there was no turning back. She did it for her members. _For Irene_.

Wendy snapped out of her thoughts when he started stroking her cheek. She was disgusted, "Don't touch me," she ordered but that didn't stop him. He held her wrists so tight that blood couldn't reach her fingers. Then he started kissing her neck. Wendy screamed, "What are you doing!" she kicked her legs and tried to escape but he was too powerful for her. "What do you want from me?" Wendy felt tears in her eyes when the man bit her collarbone and licked it with his filthy tongue. What had she done to deserve this? "I thought I was pretty obvious," he stopped his disgusting actions for a few seconds, "I want you."

"You can't have me," Wendy was quick to reply. She was getting bold with words, she wished she could do the same with her body. Moving her hands was impossible with those grips of his. His right leg also kept the bottom part of her body from moving.

"Alright. I'll have your girlfriend then."

Wendy cursed under her breath. He really knew what to say to make her scared. "Please, no," she begged, her walls breaking. She felt a lone tear escape her eyes. All she wanted was to keep Irene safe, why was he making it so difficult for her? "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You ask too many questions," he let her right hand and Wendy could barely move it. He moved his hand back to her neck, "I have a challenge for you," he smirked. Wendy stood silent, waiting for him to continue. "Break up with your girlfriend or else I'm gonna do bad things at her. You two shouldn't be together." Wendy's eyes widened. _No_. She couldn't do that. Doing that meant hurting Irene's feelings.

She was ready to deny but he didn't let her. He pulled out something from his back pocket; a knife. Wendy almost fainted at the spot. He wasn't kidding when he said he would kill Irene. Fear washed over Wendy's body. "I won't take no as an answer," he smiled at the knife. He backed away but he wasn't done. With a swift move he took what looked like a tiny microphone from his pocket and placed it behind Wendy's ear. The small device stuck on her skin, almost invisible behind her ear. Wendy didn't dare to move, his knife pointing at her. "This is a microphone. I want to make sure you're not going to do anything funny. Take this off and I'm cutting you and your girlfriend's heads off."

Harassing her was one thing. But harassing Irene..._Unnaceptable_.

"Why?" Wendy choked out, her face now filled with tears.

What was the reason behind all this?

What would he gain from this?

Was it for his pure entertainment?

"Because I said so," he pushed the tip of the gun against her neck, "You have less than a week to do this. Time starts now." And with that he left closing the door behind him with a loud bang. Wendy stood there, gasping for air and choking with tears. Her mind had gone completely blank. She couldn't process what had just happened. Who was he and why did he come for her?

_Her agony was his entertainment._

(...)

The man could hear everything. Wendy was too scared to speak. She spent all day in her room. At night, she pretended to be asleep so that Irene wouldn't talk to her. Nevertheless, the leader never forgot to give her a goodnight kiss on the head.

Irene always treated her like a princess. How was she supposed to break up with this angel? Wendy found it impossible and time was running. The week was coming to an end, and each passing second made Wendy more and more nervous.

"Seungwan, what's going on?" Irene asked one day after they returned to the dorm from practice. Irene probably had this planned, Wendy thought. She had come into the room before Wendy could go to 'sleep'.

Their new song was a huge hit, they won many awards and they met the fans a lot. There was no reason for Wendy to act like that and Irene could tell that something was off.

The leader would always do something when Wendy wasn't feeling well. When Wendy wanted to cry Irene held her close. When she wanted to shut the whole world out Irene made her fresh pasta the way her mum made it. When she wanted to sleep alone Irene arrived with a soft blanket and her favourite teddy bear. Every time Wendy pushed back Irene gave her no resistance, but every time Wendy fell Irene picked her up, no "thank-you's" required.

"What's wrong?" Irene asked in a softer tone this time. She sat on the bed and patted spot next to her, "Come here, talk to me."

Wendy didn't move. She raised her hand to scratch the back of her head and her fingers accidentally brushed upon the tiny microphone. _He was listening._

“Why do you like me?” Wendy whispered out of sudden, Irene's hand tracing her arm. “How could I not?” Irene replied, cupping her cheek so her beautiful eyes met her own. Wendy frowned at the answer and looked away. With each passing second she was closer to breaking her heart.

Irene looked confused by the unexpected question, "Seriously, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I told you a million times, I am okay."

"And I pretended to believe you a million times."

"I'm not lying, Irene. I would never lie to you."

_Liar, liar, liar, liar._

Irene didn't look pleased, "Alright then. Should we go to sleep?" she acted as if nothing had just happened. Wendy nodded, glad that Irene decided to back off. They changed clothes in complete silence and lay together on the bed. Wendy turned her back at her girlfriend once again. She didn't dare to look into her eyes. Irene hugged her from behing as she always did and placed a soft kiss on her shoulder.

"We've been together for almost seven years now. I know when you're lying," Irene whipsrered in her ear. This whisper kept Wendy awake for the whole night.

-


	12. Twelve.

**A/N:** _Trigger Wanring! Violence! Read at your own risk!_

(...)

Time was up. It was the last day of the week already and Wendy still didn't have the guts to break up with Irene. Even worse, she didn't have the guts to talk to anyone about this man. Thankfully, he hadn't shown up since the beginning of the week. Maybe it was all just a prank after all. Maybe they were testing her.

_Sigh_. Wendy ran a hand through her hair and felt the microphone behind her ear. She had tried to take it off so many times this week, but it was impossible. All she had done was damage the skin around the mic.

As always, the girls were at the practice room. Sometimes it felt like they spent more hours in the practice room than their dorm. Yeri once suggested moving their beds in there too.

"Damn it, I forgot my phone in the car. I'll go get it," Irene realised while they were having a break.

Wendy's eyes widened. There was no way she would let Irene leave the practice room alone. "I'll get it for you," she quickly said. Time was up, which meant she had lost the challenge. Irene shouldn't be left alone at a time like this. Wendy ran downstairs, where the car was parked. She greeted the driver and grabbed Irene's phone from the passenger's seat. She put the phone in her back pocket and ran, thankful that the man wasn't there.

Her relief was cut short when a hand grabbed her arm before she could enter the practice room. The hand belonged to none other than the man who had been giving her nightmares for the past week. He pushed her into the janitor's room once again, despite Wendy's resistance. When the door was closed and locked, he pushed her with all his power. Wendy's small body found itself on the floor.

"You failed," he roared, "You're useless."

The man stared down at her with fire in his eyes and gave her a rough kick on the ribs. A searing shot of pain ran up the young woman's body, a scream escaping her pale lips as the devastating sounds bounced off the room's walls. The man didn't seem at all bothered by the screams that came from his victim. If anything, he seemed amused by her pain. His stony eyes stared down at the twitching body before him as if he were inspecting a freshly plucked turkey, all ready to go into oven. The dim light reflected off the beads of sweat that had settled on the Wendy's forehead.

Then he lay on top of her, Wendy's eyes closed tight. She kicked and punched him but he was senseless. His coarse whisky tongue licked at her skin, stubby fingers curled in her hair. Every time Wendy closed her eyes he bashed her head backward onto the floor demanding she open them. She didn't want to, she closed them over and over, anything rather than watch his face lit up with with power and lust. She tried to struggle but she was becoming unconscious and her body was now weakened. She screamed with all the power she had left, but the locked door muted all the screams to the outside world. After a time, her screams had subsided and her tormentor had grown bored with her silence.

He ran his angry fingers down her back, his nails ripping her skin off. He became angrier, his force less controlled, until finally blood ran from her back. Wendy cried in pain.

"Please, stop," she begged.

"I love it when you beg."

Wendy was beyond disgusted. Her heart was racing and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and wait for someone to save her. But no one would, no one was there. The walls were a hundred percent soundproof. A choked cry for help forced itself up her throat, and she felt a drop run down her cheek. It seemed as if this was the end of the road for her.

"Tonight. I'll do it tonight. Please, let me go," she cried. Her sobs seemed to make him stop. "Wipe your tears. We don't want evidence now, do we?" he said as if he hadn't just marked her whole body with his nails and teeth. "This is your last chance. Don't make me use that knife." Wendy flinched when he took the knife in his hand. He laughed at her reaction, "Oh, sweetie, I'm not going to kill you. That's for your girlfriend. I have other plans for you. And don't forget; if you tell anyone about this, you will suffer the consequences." Sending a single kick to her stomach, the man stood and left, but not without giving one last lingering glance to the woman.

Wendy stayed there for a few minutes - or maybe hours, she didn't know - staring at the ceiling. She was a mess.

She stood up, trying to calm herself down. Wiping her tears she went to the practice room. How do you hide red eyes, though? She had to be back quick before the girls got too suspicious. Thankfully, her long black shirt covered the huge scratches on her back and hopefully the blood too. Pretending to not be in pain was extremely difficult, Wendy realised when she walked in the practice room. Irene came smiling at her, and all Wendy wanted to do was fall into her arms and cry.

Wendy turned out to be a very good actress, because Irene didn't show any sign of noticing.

"What took you so long? Did you get it?" Irene asked her. Wendy was confused. _Get what?_

"My phone. Did you find it?" Irene tilted her head. _Oh, right! The phone!_

"Oh, right, yes," Wendy took the phone out of her back pocket and gave it to her girlfriend.

"Thank you- Oh, no! When did this happen?" Irene gasped when she took the phone into her hands. Wendy frowned and looked at Irene's phone. The usually spotless screen of Irene's phone was now shattered in million pieces.

"Oh, no," Wendy should have known. The man had thrown her too harshly on the floor, she had almost heard it cracking. "I told you not to put it in your back pocket when you're sitting in the car," Wendy said, trying to cover up.

"Sorry," Irene muttered and walked to the other girls while trying to make the phone work. Just how aggressive did Wendy sound to make Irene apologise? Wendy should be the one apologising. She went closer to the leader who now sat on the floor next to Yeri, "Joohyun, I'm-"

"Girls! Good news. People loved the new choreography!" their choreographer came excitedly in the room. "Damn it," Wendy muttered under her breath when she noticed Irene had left the spot next to her.

Maybe she shouldn't apologise. Maybe she should start being a little distant. They were about to break up after all.

(...)

After a long day of practice, live shows and fansigns, it was finally the best time of the day. Nighttime. The night was a special kind of blackness, the kind that wanted only to hold the stars and help them to shine all the brighter. This would be the perfect night for stargazing or walking around the city, hand in hand with Irene. But Wendy had different plans...

The couple was in their room - also known as Irene's room - getting ready for bed. Irene came out of the shower looking gorgeous as ever. How could someone look so good in just a plain white t-shirt and black shorts? Irene sat on the bed, wore her round spectacles and opened the book she had been reading for the past week.

Finally the day Wendy had been dreading was here. She had no other choice but to satisfy the man. That way she would be free. Now that the time had come her mouth had gone dry and her heart was beating more forcefully than it usually did. She didn't want to chew on her nails or lips, so she found herself gnawning on the inside of her cheek. Soon the taste of blood filled her mouth. She decided to change into something more comfortable while she was thinking how to start the conversation with Irene.

"What the hell?" Irene gasped when Wendy took her shirt off.

Wendy's breath hitched. _The scratches_. She quickly put the shirt back on.

"Take your shirt off," Irene threw the book on the bed and walked in front of Wendy. The younger one swore she could see fire in her eyes.

"No," Wendy replied now facing the leader.

"What's that on your back?" Irene took a step forward and Wendy took a step back.

"I fell."

"Stop lying."

"I'm not!" Wendy raised her voice. Irene was startled at the sudden change in Wendy's attitude. "What about these?" she pointed at the red marks on her neck.

"The hairdresser accidentally burned me while straightening my hair today," she mentally slapped herself.

"You have these marks since the beginning of the week and they've gotten worse now. You think I haven't noticed?" Irene aggressively ran her hands through her hair, "What is going on, Seunwgan?"

It was time. Wendy had to speak. She had to say something. _Anything_. She cursed under her breath for losing her words.

"Who did this to you, Wendy?" Irene asked in a softer tone, pain in her eyes.

"I'm having an affair," Wendy finally spoke. She stood there, as she felt her heart cracking like glass, spreading its pieces throughout her body. It felt as if her bright world had gone dark, like a big curtain being pulled across the sky.

Irene fell silent. There was a moment where her face washed blank with confusion, like her brain cogs couldn't turn fast enough to take in the information. Every muscle of her body just froze before a frown crept onto her face. Wendy could read her eyes like an open book, but she didn't. It would hurt way too much. "What?" was all Irene could say. Wendy held back her tears. She hated seeing Irene like this, "I don't want to be with you anymore, Joohyun."

Irene's lip quivered, "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" it took all of Wendy's power to say that without crying. She cringed at her own words, she was being way too harsh. Irene didn't deserve this. But if it meant keeping her safe then...

Suddenly, an image of the man pointing the knife to Irene's head came in her mind. This should never, _ever_, happen. Wendy had to protect Irene at all costs, even if that meant breaking her heart.

"After all these years-"

"I'm seeing someone else. It's over, Irene."

Wendy could see the tears in Irene's eyes. She turned to go, shoulders sunken and her hands clenched in fists. Irene stood in her way and they locked eyes, the perfect distance for a kiss, but Wendy shook her head. She could see her pain mirrored in Irene's dark eyes. She left before Irene could see her crying, running into her room.

"I did it," she cried once she closed the door. She knew that the man was listening. "Are you happy now?" she sobbed into her pillow. She cried all night, without carrying if the man was listening.

-


	13. Thirteen.

Sadness. Something Wendy had never understood. Why be sad of something which had already happened? After all, there was no point crying over spilled milk. Unfortunately, when Wendy got sad, it was like being stabbed in the heart a thousand times without dying. 'Sad' sounded so childish, like something flimsy, something one should be able to cast off with a happy reflection or the smile of a friend. But 'sad' was nothing of the sort. It sit inside like the germ seed of depression, just waiting for the right conditions to grow, to send out roots to choke the hope out of her heart.

There were no words to explain what Wendy was feeling. Sleeping alone had never been so difficult before. Wendy missed Irene more than anything in the world.

The man behind all her worries had met her a few days ago, telling her,_ "Good job. You saved your little girlfriend. Too bad I don't have enough time to give you your reward now. We will be meeting soon."_

Wendy waited for his next move. He was unpredictable. Thankfully, he had removed the little mic from her head and she felt free to speak again.

But what was the point of talking if she couldn't talk to Irene?

Wait. Was this her chance? Should she ask for help now that he wasn't listening or was it too risky? Wendy had way too many questions in her head. The most important one though was; is Irene okay?

Wendy only saw her when they had a schedule. If they didn't, Irene would be all day locked in her room. The other members had no idea what had happened but they were definetly concerned about their leader and the main vocalist.

One day, Joy caught Wendy in the kitchen, "What is going on? Did I miss something?" Wendy sighed. They would find out sooner or later.

"Irene and I broke up."

Joy choked on her water, "What?!"

"Shhh, don't yell," Wendy placed a finger in front of her mouth for emphasis.

"What do you mean? You must be joking."

"I'm not," Wendy swallowed hard, tears forming in her eyes. It was still so difficult for her.

"After so many years? Why?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time."

"Sooyoung, I really don't want to talk about this right now."

"Is Irene okay?"

That was when Wendy started crying, "I don't know," she mumbled, "I hope she is," Wendy covered her trembling mouth with a hand. Joy quickly pulled her into a hug. "Why did you do this? Why did you break up?"

"Because I love her too much."

(...)

Two weeks without Irene were enough to make Wendy a total mess. She didn't eat, she didn't sleep, she didn't even go to practice. She didn't want to do anything.

She really hoped Irene was okay. They hadn't seen each other in days and they were both going crazy. Wendy didn't know how long she would take this, but then again she didn't have the guts to risk it all and tell Irene the truth.

Irene on the other side had had enough. She had known Wendy for so many years, she knew her better then her own mother. She could tell when she was sad, happy, nervous or even hungry. And most importantly she could tell when she was lying. Why would Wendy be lying at her, though?

Irene was about to find out.

She wiped all the tears that covered her face and went to Wendy's room. Should she knock the door? She didn't. No time for that.

"Seungwan-" Irene was startled by Wendy's presence behind the door.

"Joohyun."

"I love you." Irene blurted. She hadn't seen her in so many days, she couldn't help herself. These three words were effective enough to make Wendy break down into tears. She was so sensitive and fragile these days, literally anything could make her cry.

Irene pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you too. So much," Wendy cried in her shoulder.

"You're not seeing anyone, are you?" Irene asked, her voice soft and smooth. Wendy shook her head no. "Then why did you do this?" Wendy did not reply. She only cried harder. Irene was impatient, she wanted explanations. She wanted everything to go back to normal. Irene took the crying girl and made her sit on the bed. "Tell me," Irene said, "Please."

"If I tell you, I might put your life in danger," Wendy explained through sobs. That angered Irene. She stood up and cupped the girl's cheeks. "I don't care if my life's in danger. All I care about is you. I want to know who made you do this," Irene gave the girl a few minutes to calm down, wiping the tears off of her face with her thumbs. After a few deep breaths, Wendy spoke, "A man. He threatened me. He said he'd kill you if I didn't break up with you."

"He what." Burning rage hissed through her body like deathly poison. "Did he do that to you?" she pointed at the marks. Wendy slowly nodded. Irene ran her hands aggressively through her hair. She couldn't believe in her ears. Pacing up and down as if determined to wear out a thin trail in the carpet, she stared down at her own socked feet. Her eyes were burning with rage and as she paced she constantly punched one hand into the other.

"I'm going to kill him!" she yelled suddenly, startling the other girl. "How dare he touch my girlfriend!" Wendy would have found overprotective Irene adorable, if she wasn't scared by angry Irene.

"When did this happen?" Irene asked.

"It happened many times..."

"What?"

"Yeah, the first time he found me was at 'Idol Radio', and after that he ordered me to meet him at different places or else he would do bad things to you. He even had a knife..."

"A knife?" She stopped pacing and shockingly, there wasn't a slope in the floor she had been stomping over. Wendy nodded. "I'm calling the police." Irene searched for her phone.

"No! If he finds out, I told you, he's going to kill us. He said he'll send other people to find us if he goes to jail."

Irene looked at her deep in thought, "What's his name?"

"I don't know..."

"Does he work here? How did he get in the building?"

"I think I've seen him work as a bodyguard sometimes? Or maybe a janitor? I don't know but I've definetly seen him before," Wendy wasn't sure.

Irene came with a quick plan, "Great! Tomorrow at the music awards, we'll find him. All bodyguards will be there. And if he's not a bodyguard we'll search for him in the building."

"And then what?"

"I don't know..." Irene wasn't good with plans. Wendy sighed, she didn't know either. Irene came to stand in front of her. With a hand she lifted the girl's chin and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Wendy had missed this so much.

"Whatever happens, I want you to know that I love you more than anything. You're safe with me. And don't you dare hide things from me ever again. You hear me?"

Wendy leaned into her touch, her palm so soft against her cheek. She closed her eyes, "I wanted to protect you..."

"And I want to protect you. So, next time something happens, please let me know." Wendy nodded, pouting like a kid. Irene smiled softly and leaned in for another peck. "Can I see the marks on your back?" she whispered against her lips. "Sure," Wendy mumbled, wanting more kisses. The leader sat next to her and carefully lifted her shirt. The scratches had been almost healed, but they would definetly leave a scar or two. _That bastard..._

Irene softly pressed the scratches on Wendy's back with her fingers. The young girl shuddered. The leader continued with soft kisses against the marks. "No one touches my girlfriend without suffering the consequences."

-


	14. Fourteen.

"So, you're together again?"

"Yes."

"Ha! I knew you wouldn't last for too long!"

Wendy rolled her eyes at Joy. Indeed, Irene and Wendy couldn't last for too long without each other. If soulmates were a thing they'd difentely be a pair of those. Joy teased them and made fun of them for breaking up for less than two weeks. It was childish, as Joy said, but she only said that because she didn't know the actual reason behind all this.

They were in their dressing room, backstage, getting ready for the music awards. Red Velvet were rumoured to get three awards that night. They were excited.

Irene and Wendy still didn't have a plan but Irene had a little something in mind. The leader had a talk with their sunbae, Taeyeon, who was always informed about everything and anything. All night she had kept awake, searching for information and asking other SM idols about this man. Irene was determined to find that man and make him suffer.

"Five mins!" someone yelled, startling Wendy. She wasn't the type to get scared easily but that particular day she was always on the edge. Probably nervous, maybe a little relieved. Nervous because she would see the man again and relieved because she had Irene to protect her. One would think that the small leader wasn't capable of protecting the members but that was _oh so wrong_. Irene could and would move mountains for these girls.

The girls along with all the other idols that were getting ready backstage, settled down on their assigned seats in front of the big stage, fans screaming on top of their lungs. They bowed to other groups, greeted their friends and waved at the fans. The music awards were about to begin. When all idols and staff members were ready, the mc appeared on the stage and the night begun. It wasn't anything special, it was just like every other music awards they had been to. The girls performed their newest songs, got all three awards they were rumoured to get and then sat, waiting for the show to end. It wouldn't be over soon, though, there were still many artists waiting to perform. While everyone enjoyed the group that was currently performing on stage, Wendy and Irene had their minds elsewhere. The leader held Wendy close throughout the whole show, her hand glided down her arm, folded over her hand. Her fingers laced with hers, palms kissing. Wendy could feel the fast thud of her heart through this single touch. Nothing in the world compared to the comfort and security of having Irene just hold her hand. Wendy looked at their locked hands and chuckled, "You're low-key exposing us,"

"I don't care." Irene's voice was firm. She was upset, Wendy could tell. The night before, the leader didn't let go of her. She had hugged her all night long, kissing her scratches, her marks, her body, her face. Irene loved her with all her heart and she wouldn't let anyone touch her girlfriend ever again. She was upset fot letting that happen already once. That bastard was going to pay.

When Twice went on stage Irene started to get loose; seeing her friends perform always made her happy. She closed her eyes and enjoyed their beautiful voices until she felt Wendy tense next to her. She quickly opened her eyes and looked around, "What happened?" she asked her. Wendy's grip on her hand tightened. The main vocalist leaned closer to her, "It's him," she whispered, covering her mouth with a hand. They didn't want people reading her lips through fancams. Irene freezed and scanned the whole place with her eyes. "On the right. The tall one." Wendy guided her with another whisper. And then Irene spotted him. A tall man with dark wavy hair and sharp brown eyes. Hadn't he done all that, Irene would have found him attractive. It took Irene a second to realize that she had seen the man before.

"Oh my..." Irene held her breath. She tried her best to control her emotions, given the fact that everyone was watching them and even filming them. They had to go elsewhere to discuss this or else fans would get suspicious. Irene grabbed her arm and dragged her out of there. "We're going to the restroom," she informed the confused girls next to them. Indeed, they went to the restroom, bowing at every single idol on their way there.

Irene pushed the restroom door shut and turned to look at a very confused Wendy. "I know him!" the leader smiled. She was relieved. "Taeyeon showed him to me! She said that he is just a fan, but a very suspicious one, so SM keeps an eye on him. He's probably a sasaeng. I don't even know how he entered the building," Irene said in one breath. Wendy was still confused, "What about his minions? And the knife?"

"He was definetly bluffing. And the knife is probably fake. Taeyeon told me that they couldn't throw him in jail because they didn't have evidence. But now we have evidence!" Irene pointed at the red marks that were now covered with make up.

"This is ridiculous. Why didn't anyone warn us about him? And who allowed him to enter the building?" Wendy had a hard time believing all this.

"I have no idea. After all, SM is known for their bad management, aren't they?" Irene laughed. It was true; their company had no idea what the word management meant.

Wendy ran her hands through her hair, closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn't believe it. "It was that easy after all?" she laughed at herself. She should have known better. Relieved, she finally smiled, a real smile after so many weeks. Irene couldn't help but smile too, "Ridiculous, I know. I can't believe you had to go through all this. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Wendy tilted her head and locked eyes the leader, "It wasn't your fault. I should have told you earlier."

Irene nodded, "Yes, you should've. And I hope you learned your lesson." A crazy man that for some weird reason got in SM had made Wendy experience the worst week of her whole life, and for what? He was just a creepy _useless_ man that enjoyed seeing others suffer. A sasaeng. Now it was his time to suffer.

"Don't you ever dare hide things from me again. If you kept this a secret any longer, who knows what he would have done," Irene placed a soft kiss on her shoulder, "Thank you for wanting to keep me safe but I want you to be safe too. It took me less than a few hours to get you out of this, while you suffered for two whole weeks,"

Irene was a hundred percent right. She shouldn't have kept this a secret. The leader walked up to her slowly and pulled her closer, wrapping her arms around her. Her embrace was warm, and her soft arms seemed very protective when wrapped around her frail body. The world around Wendy melted away as she squeezed her back, not wanting the moment to end. Her mind was at peace.

There was something so warm, something that felt right, smelt right. She let her body sag, her muscles become loose. She felt Irene brush her hair back with her slim fingers and kiss her gently. If she had tears left to cry, she would definetly break down in her girlfriend's arms once again. But these two weeks had drained every single tear she had.

"You're always safe with me. I love you," Irene whispered and Wendy found out that she still had many tears left.

(...)

Irene waisted no time to contact Taeyeon; the experienced leader knew what do to. She told her to leave it all on her. Taeyeon was the best unnie. Sooner or later that bastard would be in jail and everything would go back to normal.

Ridiculous, just ridiculous. Wendy wanted to slap herself. It had been so easy after all. Keeping things to yourself never led to good, Wendy learned.

Lesson learned; never keep sercets from Irene or anyone else ever again. Irene always knew what to do. As cliché as that sounds, Wendy felt like Irene was her hero. Super Irene. No, wait. _Ireneman_. Perfect.

Irene never left Wendy alone in case he was still around, but Wendy was pretty sure that the leader would be glued to her even when the man was in jail. She loved overprotective Irene.

This year had been so difficult for both of them. Life brought so many changes, from youthful teens to adults, from trainees to idols. There were ups and downs, times of closeness that seared one another forever into each other's souls and times of distance, of near isolation. Yet they always found a way back to being lovers, to passion's first true kiss, to that moment of union that makes lovers so special.

Everything was going to be alright now, she had Irene and Irene had her. They were a team. They had been since they were trainees and from today no one could separate them, for better or worse. She would never fear the darkness again because she would never be alone.

The tension that had kept Wendy up for two weeks straight melted into nothing. She was so relieved she felt like a bouncing ball. Finally, the couple could rest. They had nothing to worry about. It was just them. They were in their room, lying on their new bed. Irene had missed their night conversations and Wendy's silly questions. Beneath the talk was the love, the gentle gaze of their eyes, the relaxed nature of their faces. Whatever they talked of didn't matter, only that they were talking, connected.

Irene listened as if Wendy's words were golden, perhaps some elixir she'd been waiting all her days to hear. And in her words were a kindness, a concern that was so quick that, for her, it was natural. This attentiveness was a part of who she was and that was, if Wendy was honest, the most attractive feature she had seen in a woman.

Then they kissed like it was their first time and Irene held the vocalist in her arms, caressing her hair while the latter fell asleep. Irene looked at the sleeping beauty and smiled. Finally. The drama was over.

Was it, though?

Right when the leader was about to turn the light on the bedside table off, Joy barged into the room, phone in hand. Irene jumped.

"Unnie-"

"Shhh, you'll wake her up," Irene looked at the woman in her arms, making sure she was still asleep. Wendy hadn't slept in so many days, she really deserved as many hours of sleep as she could get.

"I'm pretty sure she needs to wake up for this."

Irene frowned at the panting girl in front of her, "What is it?"

Joy didn't speak. She only handed her the phone. Irene adjusted the glasses on her nose and squinted her eyes to take a better look.

"Oh my god..." her breath hitched.

_This can't be happening._

_No, no, no, no, no, no._

"Seungwan. Wake up," the leader gave the phone back to Joy and shook the vocalist awake.

Wendy's head, which had been previously buried in Irene's neck, moved to face the two women in annoyance. She rubbed her eyes, "What happened?" she groaned. Had she opened her eyes she would see the complete fear in the girls' eyes. Irene gulped.

"Dispatch found us."

-


	15. Fifteen.

A nightmare. After all they'd been through this was their reward? Life was unfair. It was over. They had been caught.

Wendy was having a panic attack while looking at the pictures. The first three low quality pictures showed Irene and her clad in black, masks and hoodies on, walking down the street hand in hand. These weren't the problem, really, it was like two friends went for a walk. And they always held hands, even on stage.

The real problem was the last picture. It was them again, but this time kissing. Wendy could tell when this picture was taken. It was that time they had decided to go on a date at the movies a while ago.

"I can't believe you kissed in public. What were you thinking?" Joy was as scared as the couple. Wendy turned the phone off and threw it on the couch. "What are we going to do?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. The pictures have over fifty thousand retweets on Twitter and it's been less than six hours since they were posted," Irene sat surprisingly calm next to her. There was no heat in her voice, as if her heart beat so steadily and that worried Wendy. She frowned at her behaviour, "How are you so calm about this?"

"What's done is done. There's no point in panicking," Irene's words seemed to calm Wendy down just a tiny bit, because she was right. But then again these pictures might have just ruined their whole career. That definetly was a reason to panic.

"Joohyun, do you understand that the future of Red Velvet is based on how people will react to these pictures?"

Irene didn't respond. Her eyes were as stationary as the silhouette of the coffee table, which was where they rested. Joy tensed at Wendy's words, "Don't say it like that..."

"It's the truth," Wendy slumped her shoulders, "I'm sorry."

Yeri for the first time that day looked away from her phone, "Why are you sorry?"

"Because," Wendy took a deep breath, "Our relationship might bring your career to an end. We practiced for so many years and since 2014 we've been doing great as a group. This shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry for being so careless."

"It's not like that, Seungwan," Seulgi mumbled.

"Hey, stop it," Joy stood up, fire in her eyes, "I don't care if my career is over. All I care about is you two. And if you're happy, I'm happy too. Don't you dare let the netizens ruin this beautiful relationship of yours, you hear me? I've never seen a couple so in love before and I don't want this relationship to come to an end because of four stupid photos," she finished out of breath. All girls were left speechless, staring at her. Wendy and Irene were deeply touched by her words.

Seulgi was the first one to break the silence, "I agree. Your happiness is more important than our career." Yeri nodded, feeling the same way. Wendy was getting emotional by their words. These four girls in front of her were not just her best friends. They were her family. Were it not for them there would be no relief, no emotional morphine. They were her safety and love, an anchor she held onto. They always gave warmth, consistent love and patience. That was why she loved them so, why her nature trusted them before her mind. Wendy would easily call them her family and this dorm her home.

"Thank you. It means a lot," Irene said in a soft voice with eyes full of affection.

"We'll go through this together. We are a team," the maknae added. Wendy smiled and felt relief wash over her body. They would face this together. Red Velvet were a team.

"The manager will be here soon. What are you going to tell him?" Joy's voice snapped Wendy out of her thoughts. The manager. She almost forgot about him. _Great_, another reason to panic.

"The truth." Irene answered before she could open her mouth.

"Really?"

"Someone took a picture of us kissing. I think it's pretty obvious that we're together," the leader explained. That was Red Velvet's leader; always a realist. She always tried to see things as they were and not as she would like them to be.

"There's no reason to hide it. Unnie is right, you should tell the truth," Yeri agreed.

Wendy nodded and turned to the younger one, the most experienced when it came to technology, "Have you seen any comments? What did people say about the pics?"

Yeri looked away, "It's still very early in the morning. I've only seen a few..." she sounded hesitant.

"What did they say?"

"I think it's better if you don't see the comments," Joy said.

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to search for them myself," Wendy was stubborn and very curious at the same time.

Yeri sighed and unlocked her phone, "You sure?" Wendy nodded and the maknae hesitantly continued, "Fucking lesbians. Disgusting. Worst group. Wendy doesn't deserve-"

"Enough." Irene stopped her.

"Finish the sentence." Wendy ordered.

"Wendy doesn't deserve a goddess like Irene. They should break up-"

"I said enough!" Irene slammed her hand on the coffee table and the room fell silent. "We are not going to read the comments," the leader stood up and walked towards her room. "Seungwan. Come with me. Now."

The girls shivered. They could feel the tension and hear the intensity in her tone. Wendy quickly stood up and followed her, not wanting keep the angry leader waiting. That would lead to no good. Also, the elephant in the room was becoming suffocating.

Wendy walked into the room and Irene closed the door with a loud bang, "Sit," she ordered and Wendy obeyed.

"Dispatch found us," Irene started, while pacing around, arms folded in front of her chest. Wendy held her breath, her eyes on the floor. "They spread the news like wildfire. Fans are leaving comments. Some are good. Some are bad," the leader continued, "We knew that most fans wouldn't like the idea of us dating, that's why we have kept it a secret for so long. Korea isn't accepting when it comes to same sex relationships. This is going to be bad. The comments will hurt."

Then she stopped in front of main vocalist, "But you know what? I don't care what people say."

At that, Wendy raised her head, "What?"

"I don't care what people say. Their mean comments won't make me love you any less. Please, don't let them affect you."

Wendy let her head fall forward, "I'm trying," she mumbled. Suddenly she felt hands touch her face, making her look up. "Seungwan," the leader started, "We've been together for so many years. We won't let a few bad comments ruin this,"

"They're not just a few..."

"Seungwan."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Wendy sighed, "I'll try harder."

Irene didn't seem pleased by her response and continued, "Listen," she placed herself on Wendy's lap and wrapped her arms around her neck. Wendy smiled and held her close. She loved having her in her arms. "If they're going to hang you for loving me, they'd best be tying two nooses to that tree. What we have done, we did together, and if our love is a capital offence; I'm ready."

Wendy stared for a second before smiling, "That was so cheesy," she laughed. Irene rolled her eyes but smiled too, "Got that from you,"

"My turn," Wendy smiled, "To kill you and me, there would only ever have to be one bullet," she finished with a short laugh.

"Oh my god," Irene laughed, "Okay, you win," Wendy chuckled and pecked Irene's lips, "Thank you," she mumbled against her lips. Irene frowned, "For what?"

"For making me feel better."

Irene grinned and placed another soft kiss on her lips. Wendy wished the kiss could last forever, but all good things must come to an end at some point, and this kiss was brought to a stop by the room's door being whipped open by Joy.

"The manager is waiting-" the girl begun but stopped herself at the sight of the two girls jumping apart.

"What is it, Sooyoung?" a flustered Wendy asked. They weren't used to showing affection in front of the other girls.

"The manager is here. He's waiting outside. He's not very happy."

Wendy bit her bottom lip. It was time. She faced the leader who was already looking at her with a small smile, "We can do this," she held her hand, giving her hope.

(...)

When the couple walked into the dorm, the three other girls immediately stood up. They had been waiting for them the whole day to come back. The meeting with the manager lasted much longer than they had expected. Irene took her shoes off and joined the girls in the living room, Wendy following behind her. Irene's face was calm, her lips in a soft smile, unlike Wendy who looked stressed, eyebrows furrowed. The three girls didn't speak or move, they patiently waited for the couple to talk first. Irene could see the agony in their eyes, so she didn't keep them waiting more.

"It went well," she smiled and the girls let the breaths they were holding. "Thank god," Joy sighed in relief. They had been expecting the worst but the leader proved them wrong.

"What's wrong with Wendy then?" Seulgi asked, looking at the troubled girl. The latter turned her attention to them. "They said their team of lawyers tried to stop Dispatch, and offered a huge amount of money but they refused to delete the pictures," she explained.

"I thought you said it went well?" Yeri turned to the leader. Irene shrugged, "I thought they would make us leave the group,"

"What else did they say?" a curious Seulgi asked.

"They said they can do nothing about it since Dispatch denied their offer. They also said that it's up to us now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that we decide whether we make it official or hide it until people forget about it."

"I don't think it'll be forgotten soon..." Yeri mumbled.

"I don't think so either," said Irene, biting her lip.

"What are you going to do then?"

The couple looked at each other. What would they do? Irene knew she wanted to spread it to the world, but how would that affect their career? Yes, they didn't have to worry about losing their jobs since SM accepted their relationship easily - so easily that it felt like a dream - but how would the fans react? Irene would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed the dislikes on their videos increasing since the incident. Thankfully, Wendy and her didn't have Instagram accounts like the other girls, so they didn't get direct hate. The comments were very mean at first but as time went by, more and more fans accepted them.

"We don't know yet," Wendy replied.

"We'll think about it tomorrow, it's late. Go to sleep," the mother of the group told the girls who gladly obeyed.

(...)

Happy was what Irene felt when Wendy walked in the door, when she knew for the rest of the night she was all hers. No managers, no fans, no nothing. Just being near her lit her up inside, gave her a serenity she could never know without her being close. It was like the breaths she took weren't full when she was away, like the smiles she smiled were incomplete somehow. Just lying next to her was her favourite place in the world. If that wasn't happiness she didn't know what was.

Finally, she could rest next to her girlfriend, and forget for a few hours the manager, the fans' comments and all the drama. In her opinion, it was about time their relationship had been revealed. She couldn't keep hiding it anymore. And she would never say it out loud but she hated it when fans drooled over Wendy's pictures and asked her to marry them.

"You're staring," the younger one smiled at her. Irene had been caught but she didn't mind, "I know," she told her, "I can't help it."

Wendy shook her head, "You're unbelievably calm while the world is on fire," she sat next to Irene, the smile still on her face. The leader roller her eyes, "The world is not on fire. You're exaggerating,"

"You look like you wanted this to happen,"

"Maybe I did," Irene smirked and grabbed the book from the bedside table. She could feel Wendy's eyes on her, studying her. Seeing that the younger one wasn't going to talk anytime soon, she continued, "I wanted this to happen because I love you and I wanted the world to know,"

"I love you too," Wendy replied. Irene had heard this countless times but her heart fluttered every single time.

The younger one lay next to her, facing the ceiling, hands crossed in front of her chest. Irene could tell something was worrying her even without looking at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"I want to make love to you."

"What?" Irene looked away from the book, her cheeks were suddenly kissed pink, the blooming colour so cute against her skin.

"I want to show you how much I love you."

The leader gave her a shy grin, "Seungwan, you don't have to show me. I know you do. You tell me every day."

Wendy didn't move her eyes from the ceiling, "I feel like that's not enough. I'm not enough."

Irene closed the book and placed it on the bedside table. When she turned around, the younger one was looking at her with troubled eyes.

"Just you, lying next to me right now is enough for me. You being here is enough. You're all I could ask for," said the leader a bit too aggressively than she intended to. Wendy thinking she wasn't enough angered her.

Wendy nodded and looked away. She still looked troubled. Irene's eyes softened and she gently asked, "What are you thinking?" she propped herself up on one elbow and with her free hand caressed the younger one's cheek.

Wendy turned her attention back to her, "I want to marry you."

Irene's heart fluttered. She quickly sat up straight on the bed and made Wendy do so too. Then she held her hands gently, "You've never said that before."

Indeed, they hadn't talked about something so big yet. Marriage had passed Irene's mind many times but she had never actually asked Wendy about it. She thought that it was out of the question since they were both idols, but hearing Wendy say that changed her mind.

"Really? Because it's all I think about."

Irene could feel the heat growing in her cheeks. By now they must be beyond an attractive rosiness, "I can't believe you can make me blush even after all these years," she said and Wendy chuckled. "Are you being honest? You really want to go that far with me?" she continued.

"Yes. More than anything," Wendy squeezed her hands, moving her thumb in soothing circles, "I want to be with you forever and grow old with you. I want to start a family with you."

Irene felt tears of happiness from in her eyes, "You can't believe how happy you made me just now," she smiled a bright smile. Wendy mirrored that smile.

"I didn't know you've thought about this too."

"I think about it all the time," confessed Wendy. Irene bit her lip, eyes everywhere but on the girl in front of her. Her feelings were getting the best of her. Then Wendy moved closer with those eyes that looked so deeply into her own. Her breathing became softer, the pensive look melting into a smile as soft as a morning light. There was something about that gaze of hers she would never find in another woman, as if in that moment their souls had made a bridge.

"Can I kiss you?" Wendy asked. Irene laughed lightly, "Why are you even asking?"

"Because I don't want to ruin the moment."

"You'll make the moment even better if you do."

And Wendy did. She smiled before leaning down and pressing their foreheads together. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Then as one, they locked lips and shut their eyes, delving into the feel of the other. The kiss was long and sweet. Neither in a rush and wanting to prolong their connection as long as they could. Both wanting to caress the other's lips with their own, they pressed closer to each other until not even hair-length was between them.

Irene for her part tried to convey just how much Wendy meant to her. To show her just how much she loved her and absolutely adored the woman. She wanted to release all these emotions that were bottled up inside of her and present them as an offering to Wendy. She tried pulling the other until it was physically impossible. A flurry of emotions had overwhelmed her, and she just _couldn't_ get enough of Wendy.

After a few minutes—_or was it hours?_ —they separated. Foreheads still pressed together and panting heavily, both tried catching their breath.

"I love you. So much," said Wendy once she pulled away. And Irene's soul jingled, because she too loved her with all her heart. The vocalist studied her face. Irene smiled, seeing nothing but pure love in her eyes. Then the younger one spoke, "Isn’t it funny, that if I had made a different decision I wouldn’t be here now? If I had become an idol in a different company, my fate would’ve been written in different ink. Because if I was sat here in a different universe, without you by my side, I would have never become complete."

Irene stared at her for a second before answering, "That was the most romantic and at the same time cheesiest thing you've ever said," she laughed. Wendy didn't respond, only stared into her eyes with a soft smile.

Now would be the perfect time to propose - Irene knew that, she'd seen it all the time in those romance stories. But how did someone go about doing that? Did they just pull out the ring and go, "Will you marry me?", or wait for the other person to talk first? There were so many questions left unanswered for Irene, all of which left her heart hammering in her chest, but the biggest unanswered question for her was, _will she even say yes?_

Who was she kidding, of course she would say yes. They had just talked about it, they loved each other more than anything, heck they'd been together for almost a decade, it was about time someone popped the question.

"Hey, Hyun,"

Irene blinked a few times at the sound of Wendy's voice, "Yes?"

"I have a question," the younger one started and Irene nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"If an orange is orange, why isn’t a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?"

Irene threw her head back and laughed heartily. She wasn't expecting this. It had been so long since Wendy had asked a silly question. Irene wouldn't admit it out loud but she had missed this.

"Now you ruined the moment," she said through giggles, "I'm sorry, I really don't know how to answer that,"

Wendy pouted, "I was curious..."

Irene smiled and lay down, pulling the covers up, "It's late, we should sleep,"

The bed was soft and warm. Irene could feel Wendy's arm draped over her, more comforting than any blanket she had ever lay under. Wendy ran her hand over her back, "Goodnight, baby."

-


	16. Sixteen.

"Seulgi, I'm going to propose to Irene."

"What?!"

"Be quiet!" Wendy had dragged the dancer in her room, right when Irene went into the shower. It had been already three weeks since the 'Dispatch' incident, and the couple had yet to appear in public together. They had only left the dorm for solo schedules but that didn't stop the fansites and the reporters from following them around and asking them countless of questions. Of course, they had answered none of them.

So, after all those days, Wendy decided she'd had enough. She would give the journalists and the fans what they wanted; she would reveal their relationship officially. But what was the best way to do that? After a lot of thought, Wendy decided that the best way to show their relationship to the world was a marriage proposal.

Don't get her wrong, she wasn't doing this because she felt pressured by the world. She was doing this because she loved Irene and wanted to be with her forever. She had thought about marriage before but never knew when would be the right time to propose. And right now felt like the perfect time to do it. They had been together for seven freaking years, it was about time after all! Their late night conversation a few days ago made Wendy even more willing to propose than she was before. Also, hearing that Irene wanted to go that far with her made her heart flutter. That night she knew, it was time to get married to this woman.

Wendy chose Seulgi to help her not only because she had no other option but also because she was her best friend. Yeri couldn't keep her mouth shut. If Wendy chose Yeri, soon Saeron would know and then Naeyeon and then Lisa and the list went on. So, Yeri was out of option. Joy was just like Yeri but sneakier. She would tell everyone and then pretend she didn't. The only member left was Seulgi and Wendy didn't mind at all because the girl was very trustworthy and too innocent to reveal such a secret. She was like a kid. It was almost as though she was both her adult self and childish self simultaneously. She still seemed to retain the innocence and on occasion the emotions of her childish self, a young girl with outstanding deductive and analytical powers yet still, at heart, a child.

"Are you serious? This is big, Wendy!" Seulgi stared wide-eyed.

Wendy smiled, "I know!" she squealed in excitement.

"This is so sudden, though, what made you do this?" the dancer asked. Wendy thought about it for a second. Why was she doing this? The answer was none other than, "Because I love Joohyun more than anything in the world and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Seulgi raised her eyebrows at her answer, "Are you sure about this? This is going to be a big step in your relationship. Probably the biggest step you'll ever take!" Seulgi's words lingered not more than a second in Wendy's brain. She was ready.

"I've never been so sure about anything in my whole life," Wendy replied with no hesitation and Seulgi smiled, "Am I the only one who knows about this?"

"Yeah," Wendy rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"Yes!" Seulgi threw a fist in the air. The main vocalist laughed, "Listen, this is very important to me and I need your help," she explained. Seulgi nodded, "Alright, what's the plan?"

"The plan?"

"Yeah, the plan."

"There's no plan."

"What?" Seulgi raised her eyebrows, "Then how are you going to do this?" Wendy gasped, realisation hitting her, "I don't know!" she ran a hand through her hair, while Seulgi sat comfortably on the bed. "Woah, calm down-"

"I can't! I have no idea how to do this!" she panicked. Seulgi laughed at her, making the main vocalist stop and glare at her, "It's not funny, Seul."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Seulgi giggled a little more and patted the spot next to her on the bed. Wendy accepted the offer and settled down next to her. "Let's see what Google knows about proposals," the dancer suggested and unlocked her iPhone. Wendy watched as she typed _'How to propose?'_

"I'm going to skip the first part," Seulgi said when she saw the first step; _'Step one. Ensure that she's the one.'_ Wendy smiled. Indeed, they didn't have to worry about this step.

"Step two," Seulgi read, "Consider asking her parents permission," Wendy raised her eyebrows. They didn't have to worry about this step either. She had met her parents years ago and they supported their relationship more than anything. Wendy was thankful. "We can skip this step too,"

"Alright," Seulgi scrolled down, "Step three. Decide when to propose," Wendy frowned at this. Now that was a hard step. When should she propose? She knew she wanted to do it one of these days, but when exactly? Seulgi noticed her hesitation and moved on to the next step, "Step four. Decide where you will propose."

_Where?_ That was even more difficult. Was the dorm romantic enough? A restaurant? Maybe on stage? Thinking about it, it would be a nice idea to propose in a public place. She wanted everyone to know that Irene was hers and hers only. She wanted people to see, she wanted to show everyone how much she loved that woman. Of course, Wendy would never take advantage of a public setting to pressure her response. After all, she was confident about Irene's answer. But that didn't make her any less nervous.

"I'll think about this later. Next step?" Wendy knew she should think about the previous steps more seriously first but wanted to see what else this site had to offer.

"Step five. Consider how you will propose."

_How?_ Should she try the traditional pose? Bending down on one knee, taking her hand in hers and asking her to marry her. The beauty of this gesture was that it was universally recognized thanks to the movies, and it could be performed anywhere. Even on stage. Wendy shook her head. She really liked the idea of proposing on stage. Irene would like it too. Or at least she hoped so.

"Are you thinking or am I reading this for no reason?" Seulgi stopped her trail of thoughts.

"I am! Go on," the main vocalist nudged her side. Seulgi chuckled at the girl's excitement and continued, "Step six. Choose a ring," she read. Wendy chuckled, that was the easiest part. They wore all kinds of rings every day; small, big, fancy, golden, silver. Wendy knew Irene's exact size and also her favourite kind of rings. Irene liked simple things. Her favourite ring consisted of nothing more than a solid metal band.

"Step seven. Rehearse and then propose." Seulgi finished and turned the phone off. Seven steps. Some were easy, some were difficult. Wendy was confident, though, she felt like she could do this. The only thing that troubled her was the time and the place, but she would figure that out sooner or later.

"Should we search for the 'top five places to propose' or...?" Seulgi started, seeing the other's troubled look. Wendy shook her head no. She didn't want the internet's help with this one, she wanted to find the perfect place by herself. Maybe she should write down her best ideas in her notebook and then ask the girls which one was the best.

"Take your time. It's a difficult decision," Seulgi patted her back. Right when Wendy was about to answer Irene came in the room dressed in nothing but a towel, wet hair falling on her shoulders.

The leader frowned at the duo sitting on the bed, "What are you two doing here?" she asked. It was pretty unusual for Seulgi to hangout in their room; the 94' liners always went in Seulgi's room. Wendy's heart skipped a beat when Seulgi opened her mouth to answer to the confused leader. The chances of her saying something stupid and ruining the plan were very high.

"We're just talking," Seulgi shrugged in the most natural way and Wendy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, "I'm going to leave you two alone now. I think I heard Joy calling me," the dancer continued and Wendy panicked. She shouldn't be left alone with Irene at a time like this. The chances of ruining the plan by accidentally asking Irene 'where do you think is the best place to propose?' where as high as Seulgi's. Maybe even higher. But there was nothing she could do now since the bear was already gone and the leader was sitting next to her.

"Is something wrong?" Irene asked with the most affectionate eyes. Wendy melted at the sight, "No, I'm just...thinking."

"About what?"

Wendy bit her bottom lip, "About you."

_Great job, Wendy. You are a step closer to ruining everything._

Irene smiled softly, "Me too."

The younger one was caught by surprise, "You're thinking about you?"

The leader rolled her eyes, "No, silly. I'm thinking about you. I've been thinking a lot about you lately."

Wendy frowned, "Why?"

"I don't know. Since, that talk we had a few days ago you've been on my mind a lot."

"Is it because I said I wanted to start a family with you? Oh gosh, I knew I shouldn't have said that, it was too early," Wendy pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. She always found a way to ruin things.

"What are you saying? I always wanted to start a family with you," Irene turned her whole body towards the younger one, "It's definetly not too early. And when I said I was thinking about you, I meant in a good way!" the leader continued, "Gosh, why are you so insecure, Seungwan, you're literally perfect."

The vocalist blushed at the compliment, "You always say that."

"Because it's true," Irene smiled and placed a kiss on her cheek, "Now, go change into your pyjamas and come cuddle with me. I'll tell you everything I've been thinking," she finished and went to dress up. Wendy wondered what the leader had to say.

(...)

“I choose you to create a life together as one team. I choose us to believe in and rely on when times get tough. I choose our future as the promise I make to you now.”

"Boring."

“I can’t imagine not committing my life to you and to us. You’ve made me a happier, stronger, and better person. I can’t wait to commit to a life of growing together.”

"Too cheesy."

Wendy muttered under her breath. She was about to kill Joy with her bare hands. She was in Seulgi's room, talking with none other than Seulgi about the proposal when suddenly Joy came into the room and casually asked, "How's the plan going?". Joy had somehow found out about her preparation for the proposal, and decided to help. Wendy knew it was Seulgi who had told Joy. She didn't blame her though, they were a couple after all. She would have told Irene too. The young girl was excited at first but now she was all strict and shady, and Wendy's patience was getting shorter and shorter.

"Maybe I should just say 'will you marry me' and give her the ring," Wendy sighed, out of ideas. This was probably the most classic proposal line;_ 'will you marry me?'_ The image of someone saying 'will you marry me?' was a a man down on one knee, giving a ring to someone as they asked this question. "Cliché," Joy commented.

Wendy rolled her eyes, "Do you have anything better to suggest?" she asked annoyed. Joy laughed, a satanic laugh, and spoke, "Honey, even my worst idea would be better than your best. Also, you're thinking about this way too much. Keep your priorities straight—your main goal is to ask Irene unnie to become your spouse, not to create the coolest proposal ever," she finished and sat on the bed next to Seulgi. The latter gave her a smile and leaned on her shoulder. Wendy was too focused on Joy's words to comment on the cute scene in front of her.

"You're right," Wendy agreed, still deep in thought, "But-"

"No buts!"

Wendy huffed and crossed her arms like a child, "You're not helping."

Joy sighed, "Look," she started after a long pause, "I could give you some advice."

Wendy raised an eyebrow, "Why should I trust you?"

"Because you're desperate." Wendy didn't disagree.

"Okay, so," the young girl stood up, "Timing is everything. Make sure your proposal comes at a time that makes the moment absolutely perfect. If you’re having a hard time finding that perfect moment, wait it out. Don’t become impatient and pop the question during an untimely event."

Wendy stood speechless. Where did she learn all that?

"You don’t need to have your speech totally written out, but spend a little time jotting down what you’d like to say. Getting your thoughts on paper and in order will give you some direction when it’s time to pop the question, even if you end up winging half of it anyway," Joy continued quickly. Wendy had a hard time keeping up with her.

"That's all you need to know for now," she finished her speech with a smile. Seulgi started clapping. What a supportive girlfriend.

"Wow, Joy, you actually got a point," Wendy raised her eyebrows, surprised. She wondered if the girl did a research before all this.

"Don't I always?" Joy flipped her hair.

"Not gonna answer that," Wendy said.

"Hey!" Joy was about to start a fight, when Yeri barged into the room, "What are you all doing here without me?" the maknae ran and jumped onto the bed.

"Wendy is going to propose to Irene unnie."

"Seulgi!" Wendy screeched, "I told you it was a secret!"

"You what?!" Yeri yelled.

"Be quiet!" Wendy glared at the maknae.

"Are you serious?" Yeri asked in a more hushed tone. Wendy couldn't contain her smile, "Yes, I am."

"Oh, my gosh, can I help?! I have so many ideas!" the maknae bounced on the bed.

Wendy was hesitant at first but she really needed the help, "Yes, you can help."

"Yay!"

"Be quiet though!"

"Sorry!"

Wendy giggled at the girl's excitement. With the help of these three girls she was sure she was going to prepare the best proposal ever for her girlfriend.

-

thank you wikiHow for helping me write this chapter


	17. Seventeen.

Wendy and Irene were told they would receive Red Velvet's first daesang by themselves today and Wendy was _mad_. Daesang Award, or Artist of the Year, was awarded to the best artist among up to twelve artists by calculating album and digital sales with online vote and a final judgement by the judges of the award ceremony. It was a huge award. Only the best of the best got that award. And 'Mama' was the biggest music awards show of all times, no one would miss it. It was like the Oscars for K-pop.

Red Velvet were five and Wendy wanted to receive that award with all of her members. Fans would want that too. Everyone had been waiting for this show the whole year, they couldn't disappoint them just like that. Wendy had contacted their manager, the staff, everyone that could help with the situation but all they had told her was that the other three girls couldn't be there. Wendy thought it was stupid to miss such a big event for a simple photoshoot but the girls didn't seem to mind that much.

"Why am I the only one bothered about this? Don't you want to be there too?" she asked the girls. They all had settled down in the living room by Wendy's command.

"Unnie, it's fine. We'll come next time," Joy was the first one to answer.

"No, it's not fine. This is the biggest event of the whole year. You can't miss it. Everyone is going to be there," the vocalist continued.

"Wendy, calm down. There's nothing we can do about it. We'll go, get the award and leave," it was Irene's turn to speak. Wendy sighed. This was not how she wanted to receive their first daesang. But the leader was right. There was nothing they could do about it.

"I don't want to go then," she crossed her arms in front of her chest stubbornly. Yeri rolled her eyes at the childish behaviour, "Unnie, if none of us goes, they'll give the award to someone else. That's how Mama works."

Wendy huffed. Yeri was right. She didn't want to go there without the whole group but they had worked very hard this year to get that award. "Okay..." she mumbled, "But we'll make a video to thank the fans later."

Irene smiled, "Great. The stylist has our suits ready. We'll leave at eight."

"Suits?"

"Yeah, I thought it'd be a nice idea. The stylist agreed," the leader shrugged.

"I think it's a nice idea too, I'm just used to dresses that's all," Wendy liked the idea a lot. Dresses weren't that comfortable anyways.

"It's time for a little change," Irene sent a wink her way, "I'm going to take a shower now. You should too," she announced and walked to her room.

Once the leader was gone, Wendy slumped into the couch with a pout making Seulgi laugh, "Why are you like this?"

"I'm sorry, I wish you could come," Wendy mumbled.

"It's okay, unnie," Yeri sat next to her, "There's always next time."

"Also, it's going to be your first appearance together since the dating news," Joy pointed out. Wendy gasped, "You're right," she had totally forgotten about this. Another reason not to attend the show. They hadn't been seen in public together since the news. Was it really a good idea to suddenly appear together at the biggest show of all times? _As a couple?_ Although SM hadn't confirmed it yet, there was no other explanation for the pictures Dispatch had released. They would be the centre of attention, reporters and journalists would go crazy. Wendy didn't know if she was ready to answer their questions yet.

Joy noticed Wendy's troubled look and frowned, "Aren't you excited for that? I thought you wanted to show everyone that unnie is yours."

Wendy nodded, "I do. But..." she trailed off.

"But what?"

"I'm scared," the vocalist confessed. Joy's eyes softened. She sat next to her and placed a hand on her back, "Scared of what? There's nothing to be scared of. You two are in a relationship and no one can change that," she said in a reassuring tone, "You'll walk on the red carpet together and you'll look gorgeous. You look so good in suits after all."

Wendy chuckled at Joy's comment, "Thank you, Joy."

Yeri suddnely sat on Wendy's right side, excitement all over her face, "This could be your chance to propose," she whispered as if the leader could hear them from the bathroom. Joy gasped and clasped her hands together, "Yes!" Seulgi agreed too. Wendy's heart raced. It was a really good idea. _Was this her chance?_

"You think so?"

"Yes! You said you wanted everyone to know. Countless photographers and journalists will be there, they'll share it in no time," said Joy. Wendy stroked her chin in thought. Indeed, she wanted everyone to know and so did Irene. Mama awards would be the perfect place for this. She could imagine it; while they were walking down the red carpet in their fancy suits, she stopped Irene and popped the question in front of everyone. It would be beautiful. She could already see Irene's surprised face. Suddenly attending the music awards only with Irene was very tempting.

The vocalist nodded to herself, "This is going to be perfect."

"You're going to do it?"

"Of course I'm going to do it!" Wendy laughed in glee and the other members joined her with cheers and claps. Seulgi threw her fists in the air, "My best friend is getting married!"

"Shhh! Be quiet!"

"My best friend is getting married!" she repeated in a hushed voice. The girls stood up and hugged each other, ecstatic by Wendy's choice. This was going to be her big day. She had everything planned in her mind. Her speech had been written and memorized a long time ago, so she didn't have to worry about that.

But there was something missing...

_Oh, no._

_The ring!_

Wendy gasped. She didn't have a ring!

"Wait! I don't have a ring!" she panicked and Joy quickly closed her mouth with a hand. "Shhh, unnie will hear you."

"You don't have a ring? Really?" asked Seulgi.

"No!"

"Damn, you're stupid," Joy shook her head and Wendy slapped her arm. They all sat back down, the glee of the previous moment disappeared.

"What am I going to do?"

"I'm sorry, Wendy, but you missed your chance. The show is in less than three hours and you barely have time to shower, let alone buy a wedding ring," Seulgi tilted her head and pressed her lips together. Wendy wanted to slap herself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_. Why hadn't she thought about this earlier? She had spent so much time in preparing everything else that she had totally forgotten about the ring.

"It's okay, unnie. Some other time," Yeri patted her back. Wendy buried her head in her hands. She wanted to cry. She had just missed the best chance she would ever get to propose to Irene.

"Stop thinking about it and go get ready. I want that award," Joy forced her to stand up.

But Wendy didn't want the award anymore. All she wanted was to marry Bae Joohyun.

(...)

"It's time," the leader announced at 8pm sharp. With the help of the stylists, the hairdressers and the make-up artists the leader and the main vocalist were ready on time for the awards. The two girls followed their manager to the car where the driver was waiting. The ride was surprisingly silent and, if you asked Wendy, a bit awkward. Irene was looking out of the window the whole time, not sparing a glance to her, so Wendy took this as a chance to stare at her. She was gorgeous. The suit she had chosen to wear flattered her beautiful body and her dark hair fell flawlessly on her shoulders complimenting her one of a kind face. Her make-up was amazing too but if Wendy had to choose between Irene with make-up and bare faced Irene she would always choose the latter. Wendy's eyes fell on her girlfriend's hands and that was when she noticed the girl was fidgeting, which was very unusual.

"What's wrong?" Wendy asked in the softest voice but the leader still got startled. They locked eyes briefly and then she turned her gaze back the window, "Nothing, I'm just a little bit nervous," she murmured. Wendy frowned, "Why?"

"Because it's our first public appearance since _that_," Irene sighed and Wendy nodded, feeling the same way. She was about to reassure the girl that everything was going to be okay, and that she'd always be by her side no matter what but the driver spoke, "We're here."

Wendy hid a gasp when she noticed the huge amount of people waiting for them to appear right outside the car. She was too busy staring at her girlfriend during the whole ride that she didn't even realise they where already there.

"We can do this," she turned her attention back to the leader, squeezing her hand. Irene gave her a beautiful smile and Wendy gained all the courage she needed to get out of the car.

She took a deep breath and came out of the car with her best smile on, Irene close behind. The photographers were already snapping pictures, the interviewers were all staring at them and the fans were screaming. They stepped onto the red carpet and waved at the cameras. There were people everywhere, music playing, cameras flashing. A big fuss was made when they appeared, hundreds of photos being taken in quick succession and many people crowding around them, always at a safe distance. It wasn't like a lot of attention was new to them but this was an _overwhelming, unbelievable amount of attention_ and it was only the two of them. Wendy knew that behind all this attention were hidden the dating scandal and many unanswered questions. Wendy suddenly got nervous when the reporters started yelling to get their attention, but she only smiled at them. The couple walked towards the middle of the long red carpet, were everyone could see them perfectly. Wendy walked in front of Irene, hand spread out for her to take but she never did. She was probably too busy posing for the photographers to notice her hand, so Wendy continued walking in front of her.

“Seungwan," Irene suddenly tugged her sleeve right when they were about to reach the middle, making her stop. Wendy raised her eyebrows and turned to look at her, "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice barely audible through the screams and the camera shutters. The leader looked at her feet and took a deep breath. Wendy frowned, slightly concerned, "Are you okay?"

Irene quickly nodded and looked into her eyes. Wendy couldn't look away.

"The past seven years have been the happiest of my life because of you. I want to spend the rest of my life doing my best to make you happy," Irene started, her words meaningful, full of love. Wendy narrowed her eyes. Why was Irene telling her all this out of sudden?

Then Irene reached in to the pocket of her pants and fell to one knee, her nervous eyes meeting Wendy’s shocked ones. Wendy's hands flew up to cover her mouth, eyes widening.

“No way,” she breathed. The crowd went wild. Cameras shuttered.

“Son Seungwan,” Irene said, feeling a lump form in her throat and so did Wendy. The leader opened the red velvet box,

“Will you marry me?”

Everything went mute for Wendy. She couldn't hear the screams, she couldn't see the flashes. She stared at the woman and continued to stare. She didn't believe what her eyes were seeing. Wendy's eyes were as immobile as the rest of her face, as if words like that were impossible to absorb any faster. She was frozen for maybe three whole seconds before the corners of her mouth resumed their usual softness and her eyes quit staring. She raised her eyebrows, every part of her face in a brilliant smile. She blinked twice and she still saw the image of her partner holding out a box containing a wedding ring. She looked at the ring, then up to Irene, then back at the ring. It took several more seconds until the situation finally processed that Irene had just proposed to her.

Wendy had her hand cupped over her mouth to try and hide her shock, but Irene could see from her eyes that she was smiling. Slowly, her head bobbed up and down in a nod, and pulled Irene up, pushed the ring box down a bit, and hugged her now-fiancé like she had never done before.

Irene grinned and held onto her tight. She squeezed her, laughing and crying into her shoulder, smiling so wildly Wendy could feel it through her blazer. Somewhere in the back of her head, she could hear photographers and journalists jumping up and down, taking pictures, squealing excitedly.

Both huffed a laugh and smiled lovingly at each other. Irene was the one that moved first, taking the ring and offering it to Wendy who willingly gave her hand. Placing the golden band in her left ring finger, she admired it for a moment.

When all was said and done, they held each other’s hands and basked in the emotions rushing in their systems. Irene leaned back, tears in her eyes, and held Wendy's face in her hands as she grinned. Neither spoke as they stared into each other’s eyes. Joy. Giddiness. Excitement. A flurry of emotions raced through them, but they didn’t allow words to express them. They didn’t need to. They simply allowed their actions to speak for themselves.

And as Irene leaned closer and Wendy moved to meet in a clash of lips, the screams became louder than ever, bringing both of them back to reality. Wendy smiled and kissed her back. With her lips she felt Irene's mouth stretching wider than it should, fighting between grinning and kissing. Happiness flowed through Wendy, warming her skin like the rays of an early summer sun. Her customary cautious grin exploded into a radiant smile that she had never worn before, not even as a small girl.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end at some point, and this moment was brought to a stop by the loud croud in front of them. They were getting a little too wild, so they had to move before someone jumped at them. They linked arms and ran like schoolgirls into the building where the ceremony was about to be held. They ignored all the reporters and the journalist on their way there.

Once they were inside the building, they quickly joined all the other idols who welcomed them in the most heart warming way. They all congratulated them and hugged them, something Wendy didn't expect them to do. Wendy thanked each one of them and even held short conversations with some of them. As she was thanking Momo from Twice for her kind words, she heard a loud, "Surprise!"

Wendy turned her head at the source of the sound only to see her four favourite girls standing behind her. She gasped, "You're here!" and without a second thought she ran to hug them all.

"We would never miss this!" Joy smiled at her.

"You had this planned?" Wendy looked at the leader who shyly nodded, "Yes, since a month ago."

"A month!?"

The leader nodded again with a smile, "I wanted it to be perfect." Wendy's heart melted. Irene really was the best girl ever. She was so lucky to have her. Joy and Yeri then proceeded to mock the vocalist about how she didn't have a ring and Irene laughed at her for being so 'silly and forgetful', as she said. More and more idols approached them politely and congratulated them before the show begun. Wendy was overwhelmed by their sweet words, the attention and the noise coming from the fans sitting at the other side of the stadium, but her eyes were focused on her fiancé and to her surprise her fiancé's eyes were focused on her.

"I love you," Irene whispered but she heard it loud and clear. Wendy smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead.

_Love. When your heart melts like butter on hot toast at the sight of someone. When you feel lightheaded and free. When you ache to be with them, to look at them, to touch them. They were in love._

(...)

_thank you for reading._


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